atmaspheric | endeavors

Nokia Maps is off to a very strong start and thanks to the N95 has been downloaded over 1.1 Million times. I’ve been informed that some very good things are in store for us moving forward as the latest beta only alludes…

There’s a brand new Maps Loader which is reported to perform up to 30x faster! In my tests downloading and installing NY, CT, NJ maps as well as the UK English voice, it was reasonable. Having never used the Map Loader before I can’t say whether it was 30x faster – seems hard to believe that the previous version could be that much slower actually. Pre-loaded maps are also reported to be considerably faster to use and I’ll be testing that out a bit now that I’ve actually loaded some! In order to appreciate the speed difference with a Map loaded map vs. one that downloads on the fly through your data connection, I’ve been told it’s best to first delete the existing map data. This will ensure you are actually using the new map file which will provide the speed increase. When I deleted my existing data it took a while. I was not watching the clock, but I’d say it was about 10 minutes. I’ve been through the areas I just downloaded in case you were wondering … not like I had the whole US on there.

As I shared recently , there’s a new look in the map in general and I’ve been finding things easier to read while moving around. Local searching (just start typing) can now include more generic terms like bar, cafe or even a city center if you are not sure what’s around or a specific address — pretty helpful when you are in a strange place. I should note that searching for Bar which actually return anything with bar in the name as well as bars in your area…

While a number of beta users myself included felt the GPS connected more quickly from a cold start, I’ve been told that in fact there’s currently no difference. When the new firmware hits shortly for the N95, there should be a nice improvement based on the work that’s been done between the Maps and S60 teams. At that time we’ll also benefit from A-GPS (assisted GPS) which will enable Cell-ID to kick in and help you locate yourself in under 20 seconds the first time you connect and under 10 seconds from a warm start. Cell-ID’s have to be learned, and will improve accuracy and therefore speed over time.

Needless to say, I am very excited about this update!

Technorati Tags: gate5, GPS, N-Series, N95, Navigation, Nokia, Nokia Maps