Smart2Go, the free gps mapping application which Nokia was supposed to release on February 10, finally made its way to the masses today, February 13. Let me share my experience with this app:

PART - I: The Nokia Maps Application

At 9 a.m., I realized that Nokia Maps was available for download. Eager, I went to the site, but alas, the only phones compatible were: N73, N80, E61, E60 and E70. Anyways, I downloaded the N80 version of the application. At about 4.2 kB/s, the 2.6MB download took quite a while (close to 20 mins) to complete. After transferring the file to the phone, the install process took somewhere close to 10 mins. That’s a total of 30 mins just to install the application on the phone. I tested the application after I got back from office. The initial start-up took about 1-1.5 mins after which my phone promptly crashed. Upon reboot, I restarted the app again. I selected the network connection (wi-fi, obviously). The phone loaded up with the pointer over a location in Europe. I moved the pointer to the East coast of the USA (approx towards Maryland) and zoomed in to view the details. That’s when the app crashed again. I rebooted and started the app again. Once again, it crashed.

The overall stability has been really poor, imo. It could be that memory in my N91 is not sufficient, but somehow I don’t think that’s the issue (EDIT: Apparently that is the case. People using the phones listed on the smart2go website are not having problems). Checking the threads on ho-fo, I see I’m not the only one with this problem.

Part - II: The Nokia Maploader

Frustrated, I turned to ho-fo where I read that I might need to load maps. I fired up my old dell and downloaded the “Nokia Maps” application. Now, Nokia Maps needs the phone to be plugged in via usb with Mass Storage Mode selected (There ’s a memory card option as well, but its not really an option for me since I have the N91). I selected USA and decided to load the Maryland map. The file size was about 41.7MB. I selected it and started the download. The download begins and it tells me that it will take 1hr and 30 mins to download the map. Ridiculous! Am I supposed to keep my phone in offline Mode for 1.5 hrs so that it can keep downloading? There’s absolutely no logic in that! Seriously, what was Nokia thinking??

I’m quite disappointed. It might work for people who have memory card readers, but what about people with the N91 and people who only have the connectivity cable? Why limit people to have their phone plugged in when downloading maps? Why not download it to the hard disk and upload it as needed?

Perhaps I should just switch back to AmaZe or MGMaps (links on the S60 freeware page) for now. Are any of my readers facing similar problems with this app as well?

The developers over at Fring are awesome! They’ve added MSN support to the already uber-awesome Fring voip application. There’s no need to update the app. Just start your app and let it connect. You will now see the MSN logo along with Skype and Fring.
Thank you Fring! That just made my day!

Screenshot:

VIA: Darla Mack

UPDATE: I have a few major annoyances:

1. Whilst chatting, if I’m typing something and I get an IM, then the current word that I’m typing is automatically deleted
2. Please change the icons for the various apps! I have a lot of contacts that are redundant on GTalk, Skype and MSN. I don’t know if I’m calling someone on GTalk or Skype or MSN!

It’s weird, but someone named Manuel sent me this youtube link which shows a youtube video being played on a  Series 60 (looks like a 3rd edition phone, based on the theme) phone.

This is the comment he left on youtube:

A cutting edge mobile technology will be introduced on 2007 Barcelona 3GSM Congress. It provides capability to take any internet service or content to be full experienced, without limitations on 3G mobiles, for the demo YouTube service was. No extra software, just your mobile device. Simply AMAZING! Future starts monday 12 on 3GSM Congress.

The video:

[youtube]TOHBpLiuzmg[/youtube]

He has provided me with an email address. I will get in touch with him and try to get more information.

If you’ve been waiting impatiently for the GPS application with theN95, then wait no more. Nokia has made available the application - smart2go available for free for all S60 users. Here is the press release from Nokia:

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform, available for free download (www.smart2go.com), enabling millions of people to use the most comprehensive map coverage offered on a mobile device. The platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices.

Nokia plans to pre-install the smart2go mapping and navigation application on all future Nokia Nseries multimedia computers under the name “Nokia Maps”. Current owners of Nokia devices may also download Nokia Maps to their supported devices. And now, by paring your non-GPS enabled mobile device with a Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-3W or other compatible GPS module, Nokia Maps can provide the same fantastic navigation experience for a broad range of Nokia devices.

The platform contains over 15 million POIs that help people explore the most interesting sights, restaurants or accommodations around them. Customers can select their favorite locations and send them to friends by multimedia message, Bluetooth wireless technology, infrared or e-mail. They can also send map excerpts and routes or save map screen shots to the gallery on the device. Recognized brand names like McDonald’s will have the option to place branded icons across the world’s digital maps downloaded onto millions of mobile devices.

“People will trust and use maps if they have those maps with them when they need them, and smart2go allows consumers the full freedom of which maps they want to carry with them. By offering Nokia Maps and smart2go for free on your mobile device, cost is no longer a barrier for anyone to enjoy the convenience of maps and routing on-the-go,” said Ralph Eric Kunz, vice-president, Nokia, Multimedia. “Nokia is on track to build the world’s most connected location based platform for mobile devices which also opens up interesting opportunities for future services.”

smart2go is a hybrid map solution: Map data from Tele-Atlas and Navteq can be downloaded directly via wireless network (e.g. GPRS/3G/WLAN) and stored on the devices memory card as needed. If all the desired map data is stored, no network connection is needed for mapping, routing and navigation. For managing downloads of bigger sizes there is an additional PC desktop tool available.

smart2go comes with the option to upgrade to full fledged turn-by-turn navigation. With just some clicks, customers can turn their device into a voice guided navigation system by purchasing a navigation license. There are various licenses available: from a one week to a three year term. When traveling to a new country for holiday one can download the relevant maps via PC in advance and subscribe to the navigation service for the duration of the holiday at affordable cost.

I’ve highlighted some of the key points of the press release which I think are important.

Symbian-Guru has also stumbled upon the presentation slides for Nokia’s announcement. The rates for the upgraded service in Europe are:

7 Days - ~$11.71
30 Days - ~$13
1 Year - ~$117.28
3 Years - ~$130.32
Well, its already February 10 and the application should be ready for download, right? But this it what I see when I visit the smart2go website.

Ever since I read about the availability of the Nokia Message Reader app, I’ve been wondering about an app which does the exact opposite! I would love to see an app that would convert speech to text and save it as a note on my symbian phone. The uses of such an app would be endless. A few scenarios to which I can relate with:

• I’m driving and receive a text msg to which I want to reply. Rather than doing the traditional one-handed T9 typing (which everyone’s good at), I could simply start up the Speech-to-text application and dictate the text message it and then choose the option which would allow me to send it via sms.
• I’m in class and the professor is explaining concepts of EV-DO in class. Most of what he says is in the reference book, but there are some valuable points which I want to note down. Rather than writing them (I’m not lazy, I do write them down), I could just start the app and point it towards my professor and voila, the notes are created. Perhaps there’s an option which allows me to save the sound file as well.

There are (obviously) some hindrances, such as the fact that you would need a sensitive microphone, which contradicts with the fact that you shouldn’t put a very sensitive mic on the phone as you don’t want background noise in your conversations (or you would need really good noise cancellation). An obvious solution would be two microphones, one dedicated for such an application. But if a company is going so far as to include a dedicated mic for the application, then why limit it to taking notes? Why not provide voice-based navigation functionality? Its quite ambitious, but voice-based navigation is being introduced into the market slowly (Windows Vista). But this would open up Symbian to an entirely new range of exploits (like the Vista speech-to-text exploit).
I’m pretty sure tho, that the Tech Gurus over at Nokia must have definitely done some research in this area. I am definitely interested in such an application. I’m just hoping that someone from Nokia is watching over my blog!