Ian Rawlings <news06@tarcus.org.uk> wrote in news:slrnfrj9ok.oja.news06
@desktop.tarcus.org.uk:

> On 2008-02-18, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:
>
>> Maemo Mapper, free from the Linux hackers, requires sellphone data
>> connection if you want map/sat photo updates in realtime, but you can
>> load them onto the memory cards on wifi at home, if you like.
>
> Last version I tried on my Nokia N770 also needs a connection to plan
> a route, and can't auto recalculate.
>
> The closest competent app to "free" appears to be Nokia Maps, it can
> plot a route and is much better than Maemo Mapper, and if you suddenly
> need voice-guided navigation you can whip out the credit card and
> provided you have a GPRS/3G connection at the time, buy a
> short-timescale cheap license right there and then. I did that out in
> the middle of nowhere. Once it's bought, you don't need the net
> connection.
>

That's true. Mapper uses an external service over the net for route
planning. Wayfinder, the N810 resident map program does not. It's
self-contained.

I don't see how these little phones are going to have enough storage for
the complex mapping programs, complete with data and maps. I just
plugged my 8GB SDHC Class 6 into the Windows box and the Navicore (same
as Wayfinder) root directory is:
1.46 GB (1,578,270,720 bytes)
in 30 directories of 324 files, which includes all the POI, map data,
etc., for all of North America, a free upgrade N800 Navicore buyers can
now download since Nokia bought the company. Before, you only got half
the USA, your choice which half, then had to buy more.

Navicore came with the N800 Navigation Kit (external Nokia GPS puck,
N800's great mobile suction cup mount to stick it to the windscreen and
the Navicore commercial software. It was about $180 at buy.com at that
time.

I quoted the N810 because he wanted an all in one unit with software
installed. Actually, having played with both, and using portable GPS
units on sailboats, I think that would be a mistake. The external GPS
works much better than internal because you can place the GPS with the
best view of the sky for best accuracy, while putting the tablet where
you can see it the best, which in a car ends up UNDER the metal roof
with poor sky visibility and lots of reflected signals which is bad for
an accurate fix. The N800/external GPS just works the best I've ever
owned. It will put you in a particular parking space on Virtual Earth's
satellite photo under Maemo Mapper...and will drive you down the exact
lane you are driving in on the composite map/satphoto as you go along,
downloading the appropriate mosaics of both over the BT DUN from the
Sellphone modem. I use Maemo Mapper lots more than I do
Navicore/Wayfinder's talking routing. Too bad Nokia doesn't combine the
two into a Wayfinder using Virtual Earth's sat photos.

As to the Sellphone, itself, having 1.5GB of data and not requiring data
connections, question: Would you sell the customers a stand alone
system that didn't require them to pay you by the month for data to feed
it? Of course you wouldn't! That'd be crazy!

That's why I call it a SELLphone....(c;