Fun with Nokia N95 GPS

flyswallower

My old phone conked out so I decided to splash out on the latest toy, a Nokia N95. It does everything except beam me up to the Mothership.

The GPS is stunningly accurate and the maps show every little dirt track and layby (although if you zoom out to "route-plan", the smallest roads disappear from the view, so you still need a paper map for that, or use the navigation.

Even more fun is a Nokia program called SportTracker. It gives a lot of bike computer info, plus altitude and heading. After your run you can replay it on the screen or send the file to Google Earth on your PC and it'll show you where you've been right there on the map, with fastest and highest points marked. The future is here!

chrisjsmith

Cool. What's the general view of the other features of the phone? I've been persuading myself that I need one and I'm nearly there!

markyboy2005

It is a very good phone.

Feature packed and the camera is very good - especially the video.

Gripes as follows:

1. Camera can be slow to start
2. keys are a little fiddly


Thats about it.

Sport Tracker is like a slightly watered down version of what an EDGE 205 does. There is another forum on which others have commented on what it can do. I like it and it is much better than the iphone in terms of technology and features - but it isn't an iphone!

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... highlight=

ContrelaMontre

markyboy2005 wrote:

... but it isn't an iphone! ...

A good thing, no?

Less sheep more mountain goat!

Bluestoesonnose

I've been told that battery life is poor on the N95, is this the case?

chrisjsmith

It's got to be better than my old Orange SPV though - that lasted a day if I was lucky.

Clever Pun

chrisjsmith wrote:

It's got to be better than my old Orange SPV though - that lasted a day if I was lucky.

but that is a rubbish phone... wasn't that the one running windows software? the 3 people I know who had them, really detested them after a very short time

beckenham

flyswallower wrote:

My old phone conked out so I decided to splash out on the latest toy, a Nokia N95. It does everything except beam me up to the Mothership.

The GPS is stunningly accurate and the maps show every little dirt track and layby (although if you zoom out to "route-plan", the smallest roads disappear from the view, so you still need a paper map for that, or use the navigation.

Even more fun is a Nokia program called SportTracker. It gives a lot of bike computer info, plus altitude and heading. After your run you can replay it on the screen or send the file to Google Earth on your PC and it'll show you where you've been right there on the map, with fastest and highest points marked. The future is here!

What's the cost?

McBain_v1

I think that Beckenham has asked the £64,000 question If this wonder gadget is all you say it is then I am going to be lobbying work to get me one on the grounds that it will increase my productivity no end (i.e. I will be happily cycling more and so might be more inclined to be more productive at work!).

McBain_v1

I think that Beckenham has asked the £64,000 question If this wonder gadget is all you say it is then I am going to be lobbying work to get me one on the grounds that it will increase my productivity no end (i.e. I will be happily cycling more and so might be more inclined to be more productive at work!).

chrisjsmith

Clever Pun wrote:

chrisjsmith wrote:

It's got to be better than my old Orange SPV though - that lasted a day if I was lucky.

but that is a rubbish phone... wasn't that the one running windows software? the 3 people I know who had them, really detested them after a very short time

Yeah that's the one. It was back in the summer of 2002. "Mmmm windows media player on a phone" Chris said excitedly listening to dodgy German synthpop! 45 minutes of wma files later - phut! Battery dead.

nickcuk

You can get a Noka N95 without a contract for between £350 and £500. On a contract, they are 'free' with £30 a month / 18 month contracts from all the big guys or less if you go for the redemption deals

Richie1964

nickcuk wrote:

You can get a Noka N95 without a contract for between £350 and £500. On a contract, they are 'free' with £30 a month / 18 month contracts from all the big guys or less if you go for the redemption deals

£89.99 on an Orange £35/month contract.

You have to install the lightsabre app too. Great fun.

ivancarlos

Wouldn't it be easier just to buy a Garmin and a phone? :roll:

custom-freak

I got mine for £30 on upgrage with T-mobile, best 30 quid i ever spent, mind you was in the chippy earlier and whilst waiting for the fresh batch of chips decided to plot the chippy into the gps as a landmark, the phone had a moment and told me i was oin italy, when i was sure i was in newcastle, mind you whn i stepped outside it found me just fine.
Have to say that i love my n95, just need a big memory card to fill up with my music and that will be ordered when i get paid.
Cf

flyswallower

I paid £235 for an almost new one on eBay, about half retail price. But that bought me an "iPod", a GPS receiver, camera/camcorder, internet, personal organiser stuff, etc and a phone thrown in, too :P Yes I agree it's a bit too small and fiddly sometimes (but small means handy to carry everywhere), but it has filled me with enthusiasm in a way my old Nokia (6310i) never did. The battery does need a charge every day if you're using the features, but I don't see that as a problem.

And now there's a Sandisk 8Gb mini SD card you can get for it for around £45 which has been tried and tested and IS compatible, even though Nokia state in the specs that it takes "up to 2Gb" cards. There is a new version of the phone out with 8Gb built-in and more RAM (but no card slot or camera lens cover), but it'll cost you, mate *intake of breath*.

fred22

Bit of a dummy question but when if actually using the GPS on this phone am I using the internet? I mean do I need to take out an internet package if I want to use this phone with ViewRanger?

Slow Downcp

I got mine, and my wifes, as free upgrades on £30 contracts - never got round to working out all the gadgets though. I use the camera, and video. The battery life is okay as long as you condition it when you first get it (charge fully, run down completely, charge again, run down, etc a few times)

Sometimes I even make phone calls with it. :shock:

drewk1

I have had a N95 for several months now and I love it.

Especially this free app from Nokia
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/main/index.do

Great for keeping track of your rides .

UnworthyPapaLazaru

fred22 wrote:

Bit of a dummy question but when if actually using the GPS on this phone am I using the internet? I mean do I need to take out an internet package if I want to use this phone with ViewRanger?

As far as I am aware it doesnt connect to the internet.

I have the N81 (no built in GPS) but am cosidering buying a bluetooth GPS reciever, I like sports tracker even without the GPS but really looking forward to tracking my routes.

fred22

fred22 wrote:
Bit of a dummy question but when if actually using the GPS on this phone am I using the internet? I mean do I need to take out an internet package if I want to use this phone with ViewRanger?


As far as I am aware it doesnt connect to the internet.

I have the N81 (no built in GPS) but am cosidering buying a bluetooth GPS reciever, I like sports tracker even without the GPS but really looking forward to tracking my routes.

Thanks that seems to be the opinion of the nice chap from ViewRanger. It was my prospective phone company who said I would need internet, I presume that they are thinking about the Nokia GPS service where the maps download dynamically

Bugly

fred22 wrote:

fred22 wrote:
Bit of a dummy question but when if actually using the GPS on this phone am I using the internet? I mean do I need to take out an internet package if I want to use this phone with ViewRanger?


As far as I am aware it doesnt connect to the internet.

I have the N81 (no built in GPS) but am cosidering buying a bluetooth GPS reciever, I like sports tracker even without the GPS but really looking forward to tracking my routes.

Thanks that seems to be the opinion of the nice chap from ViewRanger. It was my prospective phone company who said I would need internet, I presume that they are thinking about the Nokia GPS service where the maps download dynamically

The maps can be downloaded on demand but you can download to you PC using your home connection and upload to the N95.

The Iphone gps uses googlle maps and doe require internet

Looked at both the iphone and the n95 8gb - prefer the nokia

muggomagic

With regards viewranger. It only connects to the internet if you are using buddy beacon (allows your location to be seen by other users on their phone or via the internet), or if you have set your GPS as assisted GPS. This uses both the GPS in the phone and the phones signal to give a quicker and more accurate fix (it does have a negative affect on battery life though).

I have the newer N95 - 2 which has the 8GB of internal memory. My O2 contract is £25 per month (24 month contract) and I get unlimited data usage (free wap and internet basically). I have used Viewranger on loads of different phones with the bluetooth GPS. I was worried this phone with it's intergrated GPS wouldn't be as good at finding and keeping the satellites, but it's superb. It finds the satellites quickly in normal mode and even quicker when assisted. I also use sports tracker for running, it's a really good application and will be even better when they get the maps sorted as they have been promising for some time now.

The only problem I have with the phone is with the battery life. With all the applications and GPS running (I often listen to music whilst riding or running) it eats the battery up, which is to be expected I suppose. I just make sure I regularly charge it.

All in all a really good phone, and after 2 months, none of the typical Nokia N series problems. Like frozen screen, shutting down and slow system operation.

mercsport

I got one as a 'payg' . A couple of hundred , new , off ebay . Then got a 4gb card , £25 , for it .
The camera's great . The vid's not bad . The acquisition of sat's is painfully slow - longer than it says it may take ' as long as .. ' in the book . The battery is thirsty . I wouldn't expect it to last a journey of more than a couple of hours if in sat -nav mode ( never tried it though ) . It'll connect to the 'net with WLAN - if there's anything handy that is - , aside from the expensive Web'n'Walk . Too many features for me to take in actually . But I got it mainly for the fact that a decent cam is always with me , because it's a 'phone too .
The newer N95-2 looks to be the machine to have now .
I saw Clarkson using the Mk 1 version on Top Gear , in one of the 'set pieces ' that they contrive the other night .

cougie

I love my N95 - the SPortstracker is a great gadget - v handy to work out where the hell that long bike ride went.

Battery life on mine seems to be failing now - can I extend it by doing the running down completely and recharging fully do you think ? Or is it stuffed ?

il_principe

I'll stick to my iPhone and Edge 305 combo thank you v much. The N95 is clunky in the extreme compared to the iPhone and the battery life on both phones is insufficient for use as a GPS on long rides. Plus the iphone has mobile me which is ace - the moment I add a new contact/diary/email item etc to the phone it is automatically updated on my webmail/diary service and on my macbook (as soon as that is next online), no more clashed diary dates etc for me. I also have all my home and work email on one device and everything is backed up on my macbook and online "cloud" each time I connect the phone, no risk of ever losing contact details etc, fab! Plus the addition of new apps has been excellent, there are some great ones out already and surely plenty more to follow. I pay £35 a month which gets me unlimited data usage and more texts/minutes than I need.

muggomagic

I use my N95 as GPS, music player, camera and (believe it or not) phone on long rides. I make sure it is charged before I leave and it lasts for over 5 hours on the ride with at least half of it's life left. It will need charging again at the end of the day, but that's no problem.

I'm buying an edge 305 as I want a HRM, and the only thing I think the viewranger/nokia phone thing has missing is that I can't have it in front of me on my handlebars (I know there are the boxit things, but they look terrible). I will continue to use the N95 and viewranger as the maps have got me out of trouble on many occassions when on my MTB.

The one thing your iphone and edge are missing is OS maps.

All that stuff about syncronising your e mail, calendar and contacts is nothing new. My old nokia 6680 (big clunky thing from about 5 years ago) did all that. I'm not dissing your iphone, as my brother in law has one and it is a sweet bit of kit, but not really that special.

il_principe

muggomagic wrote:

I use my N95 as GPS, music player, camera and (believe it or not) phone on long rides. I make sure it is charged before I leave and it lasts for over 5 hours on the ride with at least half of it's life left. It will need charging again at the end of the day, but that's no problem.

I'm buying an edge 305 as I want a HRM, and the only thing I think the viewranger/nokia phone thing has missing is that I can't have it in front of me on my handlebars (I know there are the boxit things, but they look terrible). I will continue to use the N95 and viewranger as the maps have got me out of trouble on many occassions when on my MTB.

The one thing your iphone and edge are missing is OS maps.

All that stuff about syncronising your e mail, calendar and contacts is nothing new. My old nokia 6680 (big clunky thing from about 5 years ago) did all that. I'm not dissing your iphone, as my brother in law has one and it is a sweet bit of kit, but not really that special.

The 6680 synced over the air did it? Wish i'd known about that - although doubtless it wouldn't have worked with Macs. The edge is a great bit of kit, fantastic if you're a bit of a stats man like myself. I'm not worried about the lack of OS maps as I'm strictly a roadie...

broachboy

chrisjsmith wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

chrisjsmith wrote:

Y eah that's the one. It was back in the summer of 2002. "Mmmm windows media player on a phone" Chris said excitedly listening to dodgy German synthpop! 45 minutes of wma files later - phut! Battery dead.

hmmm :roll: pretty much how long my N95 lasts while listening to tunes on the ride home from work

The battery life isn't brilliant to start with, then as you can imagine as it gets older.... :shock: And I haven't had it a year yet...

broachboy

mercsport wrote:

The acquisition of sat's is painfully slow - longer than it says it may take ' as long as .. ' in the book . The battery is thirsty . I wouldn't expect it to last a journey of more than a couple of hours if in sat -nav mode ( never tried it though ) .

err yeah 5 mins outside in the car to pick up the sat, and I have to have the in car charger plugged into phone for the whole of the journey, but saying that I use it often, it is a nice bit of kit to have on your phone

nwallace

Clever Pun wrote:

chrisjsmith wrote:

It's got to be better than my old Orange SPV though - that lasted a day if I was lucky.

but that is a rubbish phone... wasn't that the one running windows software? the 3 people I know who had them, really detested them after a very short time

Yes! and how poor it was too, got one at work for demo purposes while the rest were various flavours of Nokia. Slow, buggy and boring. Not to mention the instruction in the hand book that said if the battery runs out the memory is cleared. To be fair to Microsoft it was more to do with HTC being poor than the software. Incidentally nokia Series 40 phones are slower than series 30 phones, the only real difference is the S40s have higher resolution screens so more of processing is required to carry out screen updates.

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