New native S60 Google Maps for Mobile with GPS support
Published by Rafe Blandford, Steve Litchfield at 15:47 BST, October 12th 2007
Google has created a version of its Google Maps application for S60 3rd Edition phones. Google Maps is now a native Symbian OS 9 application, which gives better overall performance compared to Java version. As an added bonus, the application now supports the use of the internal GPS in relevant phones; allowing you to see your current location. Read on for plenty of screenshots and a quick run through of the features.
[Steve: I'd been hitting refresh on the GMM url for weeks, but Ricky Cadden beat me to it - heh!]
As a native Symbian OS 9 application, Google Maps for Mobile now has better performance. The most noticeable improvement is in load time, but moving around a map and basic operations are also faster. The main limitation is the speed of the connection, not the application itself. All map data is downloaded over the air which could have an impact on data bills for those not on unlimited data plans. Another advantage that is less immediately apparent is the fact it uses a lot less RAM during operations which should mean it has less of an impact on multi-taskers.
The application is now able to access ('Show current location') the internal GPS of the phone and the current location is indicated by a blue dot on the screen. With the GPS active, you can jump to your current location at any point using the '0' key.
Being able to jump to an aerial view, in exquisite detail, of your current location, more or less anywhere in the world, without lifting a finger or giving the software any manual help, is MAGICAL. You get lost, you open your N95 (or E90 or 6110, etc) and you're almost instantly shown where you are and, after a couple more keypresses, given explicit directions to get home, overlaid on a traditional street map or the respected Google Maps satellite view.
And all this functionality is totally free. Take a deep breath, though, as there's more.
There are the familiar search options for finding a specific location, and extra information (such as address and telephone number) can also be accessed. A really nice touch is the integration into Contacts and Web. You can also get directions to a given place or call the telephone number from within the application.
The application also allows you to get basic driving directions, as shown in the screenshots above.
You can also, for select areas, see on-screen indications of current traffic conditions.
While Google Maps does not quite match the feature set of the fully subscribed Nokia Maps (no auto-advancing, voice guided, turn by turn instructions, for example) it is ideal for those looking for a simple to use mapping program with GPS support. It's certainly one step up from the also-free Yahoo Go 2.0, which runs under RAM-hungry Java and doesn't have the same integration with the S60 applications.
Rafe and Steve, 12 October 2007
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Categories: Software, Editorial Thoughts
Platforms: General, S60 3rd Edition
News Discussion
Unregistered
My E61i with BT GPS worked perfectly :)
neilhoskins
Thanks, 'unregistered': you answered my question. It really is "magical" as Rafe puts it, on my N95, but I was wondering if it would work on the wife's E50 with BT GPS.
Unregistered
YES! Finally!
ajck
This is great news. Amazing - a bit of competition from Nokia Maps and Google gets a kick up the behind!
The only other thing to bear in mind is if you ain't got signal, you ain't got a map, whereas with Nokia's maps if you've pre-downloaded the data to your card as most people will, you won't be still lost - with Google Maps you will.
viipottaja
I've only used it for a few minutes now (and I don't have GPS), but there seem to be some (somewhat annoying) shortcomings compared to the Java app:
1) no possibility to "select point on the map" as starting/ending point; always have to enter an address manually
2) no possibility to just "find location"; always have to look for directions (at least I could not find just an option to just look for a spot)
3) no possibility to save a location/search as a "favorite"
Nokia Maps has categories of POIs, which Google Maps does not appear to have. But the search function seems to work pretty well (maybe better than on Maps, have not tried it too much on Maps).
Btw, if/when Nokia buys Naviteq, all this would be genarating revenue for Nokia too right? :) Or does Google use the other one (forget the name now)?
Rafe
viipottaja - agreed - the favourites stuff that is missing is annoying. You can do just a search though - use Options -> Search.
On directions - check the options menu - there's a recent searches list which is rather handy.
Yes in theory this earns Navteq money, though I think quite a lot of the mapping comes from TeleAtlas.
For the record Steve wrote the magical bit not - I'm usually more sober :), Steve has a better way with words.
viipottaja
Oh ok, I can use "search" to find an address/spot on the map. Silly me. :)
fernando20
With this, and the acquisition of Jaiku, maybe google is starting to pay more attention to the S60 scene...
And one can always dream of a native gmail app
simonjonknight
sorry to sound stupid but where on the Google Mobile site is the S60Specific download? I can only find Blackberry and Yank Cingular phones. I've got the ordinary googlemaps already.
Thanks
Guess Who
Without pre-downloadable maps it worths shite.
Unregistered
I can't find it either from a normal web browser, but the link is visible from mobile.
Unregistered
google.com/gmm/GoogleMaps.sisx
Unregistered
mobile.google.co.uk from a N73 gets a pointer to the native maps app
ChemicalBrother
BT GPS works with both Google Maps and either Nokia Sports Tracker or Nokia Maps simultaneously. That's sweet! :)
Unregistered2
From my experience, which web browser you use on your phone will determine the Google Maps version you get. Using Opera on my E70, the google.com/gmm link downloaded Google Maps 1.06(3), a Java Applet. Using the Web application (POS) that came with the phone, that same link downloaded Google Maps 1.70(2), a native app.
As mentioned previously in this forum, the Java Applet has more features than the native application. And even though they both have the same name, Google Maps, they coexist on my phone because of the different file extensions. So, I guess what features I want determines which one I use ... until the native app is brought up to speed with the Java version.
Unfortunately I don't have BT GPS, but that's next on the list of things to try (read: buy).
Unregistered
Downloaded to E61 - bloody fantastic
tompic
Hi there,
Unfortunately, Gmap native doesn't seem to work on my E61i with a BT M1200 Holux GPS..
Anyone could make it work?
Tom
Unregistered
hey every/anybody
I have an N95-3 (U.S.).
I've tried both the java version and the version of gmaps mobile discussed here and with either one my gps takes a terribly long time to find my location, or it doesn't work at all and I get a "weak signal" message.
Does anyone know if this is normal and if not, what can be done about it?
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