Mobile Fun Blog

Sat Nav for your HTC Touch Diamond

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

One of the biggest handset launches of the year so far was the HTC Touch Diamond. Its got a decent camera, touchscreen, compact design, full internet, email and built in GPS to help you get around, which is great, if, like me, you’re hopeless at finding your way around – but, it doesn’t come with any mapping software built in.

So far there hasn’t been a Sat Nav solution available for the HTC Touch Diamond as most third party Sat Nav software is installed onto a memory card. As the Touch Diamond doesn’t have a memory card slot, this made it impossible to install – until now!

CoPilot have just launched CoPilot Live 7, a fully featured Sat Nav system designed exclusively to run on the HTC Touch Diamond. Supplied on a DVD, the software is quick and easy to install and completely eliminates the need to use a memory card as installation is done through your PC.

The software features a large, clear touch based user interface, and can navigate using your phonebook contacts, address, or search for an address using a UK post code. CoPilot Live 7 aims to keep distractions to a minimum, so clear spoken instructions will guide you to your destination, while the clear 2D and 3D mapping will show you where to go and automatically zoom in when needed. Safety Camera alerts are also included at no extra cost with free periodic updates. Maps for the UK and Ireland are included as standard, and additional maps can be downloaded using CoPilot Central – a desktop application that allows you to plan and print your routes in advance, upgrade your services to include traffic updates and buy the extra maps.

Visit the Mobile Fun website for more details on CoPilot Live 7 for the HTC Touch Diamond.

UPDATE: CoPilot Live 7 with European Maps is now available. Visit the Mobile Fun website for more details on CoPilot Live 7 with European Maps for the HTC Touch Diamond.

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iPhone Sat-Nav Confirmed?

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

JUNE 2009 UPDATE: TomTom software has been confirmed for the iPhone – Read More.

Since the launch of the iPhone 3G last week, stories are surfacing on the availability of a full Sat Nav application. Rumours were flying around prior to its launch that TomTom had a full version of its mapping software ready to launch, and according to Gizmodo, TeleNav have a version ready for release too. Nothing as yet has been confirmed on release details, but it would seem that there are a few issues that the software vendors will need to resolve first.

Software developers have stated that the iPhone SDK (software development kit), bans the use of real time navigation, presumably to avoid any potential lawsuits from people directed into a ditch by their iPhone. No doubt developers such as TomTom and TeleNav will be working closely with Apple to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Via Gizmodo

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Nokia Maps 2.0

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Along with the announcement of 4 new handsets at the Mobile World Congress, Nokia also announced the arrival of Nokia Maps 2.0 – an upgrade to the current version of their mapping software found in some of their N-Series and E-Series devices. Nokia Maps 2.0 promises to be more pedestrian friendly, and be clearer to see while driving. The full version is available to download now, so we thought we’d try it out and see what’s new.

2D Map View	3D Map View	3D Night View	Arrow View

Maps
When Nokia Maps 2.0 loads, the differences are noticeable almost immediately. The search bar is now a permanent feature in standby and a data counter has been introduced to help keep an eye on your data usage, especially handy if you aren’t on a fixed rate data plan. Two icons on screen tell you which keys to press to zoom in and out of the map. The signal strength indicator has been improved to show more than just 3 bars of signal reception. Locking on to signal is much faster too – I normally manage to achieve signal lock on my Nokia N82 in 5-10 seconds and often get a signal indoors.

The map views are pretty much the same as before, with the choice of alternating between 2D/3D and day/night view. On screen navigation display has been improved considerably too – you now have the choice of Manoeuvre view, Birds Eye view and Arrow view. Arrow view is a much simpler way to navigate; it shows an arrow facing in the direction you need to travel. Interesting additions are Satellite and Hybrid views, very much along the same line as Google Maps, although you can’t zoom in as far.

Satellite View
Non-Major Cities	Major Cities

Navigation
To set your destination is extremely simple. If you know the address or postcode of where you want to go you can simply enter this into Nokia Maps. Once it has confirmed the address and shown you on screen, simply select “Drive to” or Walk to”and away you go.

Navigate to Address or Postcode.

The built in search has also been improved in Maps 2.0, if you don’t know the full address or postcode, you can now enter part details in and the application will look it up and give you a list of possibilities. The search includes Transport, Restaurants, Cash Points, Post Offices and many more. You can also search by category, such as Eat & Drink, and you can set filters such as Fast Food, Restaurants, Italian etc, and it will just show the locations close to your current location.

“On Foot” directions	Local Search	Extra Services

Pedestrian Navigation
One of the biggest problems with previous versions of the pedestrian mode was that you never really knew if you were walking in the right direction until you’d walked far enough to notice the difference on the screen. Maps 2.0 has managed to fix this by using the inbuilt accelerometer to create a magnetic compass – This tells the phone which direction you have turned. Walk mode also has information built in on rail transport systems for some of the worlds largest cities to make commuting even easier.

Compatibility
Nokia Maps 2.0 is compatible with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, including N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95, N95 8GB, E51 & E90. If you are using a Nokia N95 you will need to using the latest firmware (Version 20.0.015 or newer). You will also need to have either an in-built GPS receiver (N82, N95, E90) or a separate Bluetooth GPS receiver. You will need to buy a license for the Voice Navigation, this can be done directly through your handset using premium rate SMS or by purchasing a Nokia Maps Drive & Walk Voice Navigation License.

Download
You can download the full version of this software from Nokia Maps website.

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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Mobile World Congress: Nokia Announcements

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Nokia have started the Mobile World Congress with the announcement of 4 new handsets. Two more handsets will join their N-Series range: the N96, successor to their flagship N95 and the N78, replacement for the N73. Nokia have also announced the Nokia 6120 as the replacement for the 6110 Navigator and a new 6220 Classic, a high spec non N-Series Multimedia device.

	Nokia N96 The N96 carries over all the features from the current N95 8GB, but has more of a look and feel of the Nokia N81. Additions to the already impressive list of specifications on the N95 8GB are, more memory – up from 8GB to 16GB of internal storage, as well as the capability to take up to 16GB Micro SDHC memory cards – Giving it potentially 32GB of storage. Nokia are also adding a digital TV tuner, so now not only can you watch video files, but live television too, but not in the UK as you need a DVB-H signal. DVB-H isn’t due to start broadcasting in the UK for a few years.
	Nokia N78 The N78 is similar in spec to that of the current Nokia N82. Having 3.2 Megapixel camera with xenon flash, built in GPS with the capability to Geo-tag your photo’s and Wi-Fi. New features introduced to the N78 are a touch sensitive D-pad, meaning you can scroll through photos and menu’s by sliding your thumb along one edge of the square silver D-pad. Nokia have also built in an FM transmitter, normally available as an add on accessory, this enables the N78 to play music from your phone on any FM radio.
	Nokia 6120 Navigator The 6120 is an update to the current 6110 navigator. Offering built in GPS, this is designed to be a personal navigation system, with more focus on pedestrian use. The built in compass and accelerometer work together to keep the map facing in the correct direction. The camera has been increased from 2 mp to 3.2 and it now supports mobile broadband data speeds (HSDPA) for faster searches and map downloads.
	Nokia 6220 Classic The 6220 classic is essentially a non N-Series version of the Nokia N82 having the same 5 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and xenon flash. Support for Micro SDHC Memory cards up to 8GB is also included.

All of these handsets will ship with Nokia Maps pre-installed. Nokia Maps 2.0 is an upgrade over the current Maps application, offering improved usability, as well as faster satellite locks and enhanced local searching. For more information on Nokia Maps, check out our Nokia Maps 2.0 review.

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