All About Symbian - Symbian, Nokia and S60 unwrapped.
Nokia Maps 2.0 preview - Four Steps forward and One Step back
Published by Rafe Blandford at 10:14 UTC, February 25th 2008
Steve Litchfield has been putting in the miles and paces to test Nokia's new beta of Maps 2.0. This premieres the pedestrian navigation mode, significant upgrades to the driving mode, satellite imagery, plus many rewritten UI elements. What exactly is new, what's improved and what's been removed? It's all here in this in-depth, illustrated preview.
Feature extracts:
The Nokia Maps story starts over two years ago, with the purchase of German navigation specialists Smart2Go. They were a very minor player in the overall market, but Nokia has taken the product, heavily revamped and extended it and, most importantly, is pushing it for 'free' with every one of the ten million smartphones they sell in each quarter. Nokia has even announced an upcoming Series 40 version, meaning that Maps will be available on every other Nokia phone, too, taking the market for Maps into the hundreds of millions. An impressive opportunity all round.
Smart2Go, or Maps 1.0, has been used by myself and others for almost a year now and is quite well known. The business model is sound, with basic route calculation and junction-stepping for free, but with voice guidance and real time GPS tracking a paid-for extra, on a per day/week/month basis. It's a system that works well and I take advantage of it whenever I'm off on a short trip, paying by the week. The main minus points about Maps 1.x have been its inconsistent routing (though later versions seemed better, anecdotally) and its sometimes confusing interface.
Maps 2.0 seems to be a complete rewrite of the product and, like most things with Nokia (and indeed with the computer world in general) is a case of four steps forward and one step back.
News Discussion
Unregistered
why is it impossible to have the map displayed in driving direction when you in normal driving mode,, this mean if you don't have an route planned you would like to have the map in driving direction not north and south as it is today..
on garmin and tomtom and wayfinder for nokia e90 this works fine but not on nokia maps !!!!
on garmin and tomtom and wayfinder for nokia e90 this works fine but not on nokia maps !!!!
Unregistered
So Nokia maps is becoming more of a paid service and less of a reason to buy a Nokia phone?
At this rate the cheapest way to keep a satnav up to date is to buy a cheap dedicated one, sell it on Ebay after 12 months and put the money towards a new one.
I won't be doing monthly payments.
At this rate the cheapest way to keep a satnav up to date is to buy a cheap dedicated one, sell it on Ebay after 12 months and put the money towards a new one.
I won't be doing monthly payments.
PaulyLaw
Steve, Interesting last point about TomTom, Co-Pilot, etc, being concerned about their S60 future. It is not unreasonable to consider a kinda "Microsoft Internet Explorer" anti-competitive situation in the future where a dominant Nokia are viewed as using their market position to stiffle competition in other areas.
Potentially Nokia are in an even more difficult position to negociate from, MS got in so much trouble for giving IE away, Nokia are directly generating revenue from navaigation licences for Maps, etc.
This is not necessarily an issue at present, but in a world 5 - 10 years down the road, when mobile devices have possibly replaced traditional computers for everything from business functions, nagavigation, entertainment and even paying for your shopping, Nokia (and Symbian generally) could be viewed as having an unfair advantage.
Maybe more than TomTom need to be concerned?
Potentially Nokia are in an even more difficult position to negociate from, MS got in so much trouble for giving IE away, Nokia are directly generating revenue from navaigation licences for Maps, etc.
This is not necessarily an issue at present, but in a world 5 - 10 years down the road, when mobile devices have possibly replaced traditional computers for everything from business functions, nagavigation, entertainment and even paying for your shopping, Nokia (and Symbian generally) could be viewed as having an unfair advantage.
Maybe more than TomTom need to be concerned?
neilhoskins
A couple of comments on comments.
I don't understand the comment above about driving direction. My v1 of Maps always shows me where I've come from at the bottom of the screen and where I'm going to at the top. If the phone is "upright", of course. In other words, not north/south as you describe. I presume that the clever thing with the new version is that this remains true no matter how you hold the phone.
@Pauly: from the comment immediately above yours, it seems that the monopoly scenario isn't really an issue because a significant number of people are sufficiently bloody-minded to go out and pay £120 for a standalone TomTom rather than pay the £50 (or whatever) for a Nokia Maps subscription.
Also, WRT TomTom and the others being worried, maybe they saw the writing on the wall ages ago and that's why TomTom have, apparently, been putting no development effort into S60.
I don't understand the comment above about driving direction. My v1 of Maps always shows me where I've come from at the bottom of the screen and where I'm going to at the top. If the phone is "upright", of course. In other words, not north/south as you describe. I presume that the clever thing with the new version is that this remains true no matter how you hold the phone.
@Pauly: from the comment immediately above yours, it seems that the monopoly scenario isn't really an issue because a significant number of people are sufficiently bloody-minded to go out and pay £120 for a standalone TomTom rather than pay the £50 (or whatever) for a Nokia Maps subscription.
Also, WRT TomTom and the others being worried, maybe they saw the writing on the wall ages ago and that's why TomTom have, apparently, been putting no development effort into S60.
elp
The free route planning feature is still there in the new version but Nokia have hidden it so well and made so incredibly convoluted and counter-intuitive that virtually nobody is going to find it.
To plan a route, you first need to look for your departure point and display it on the map. Then click the joystick and, in the menu, choose "Add". In the sub-menu that appears, choose "To route".
This will open a new window called "Route". From there, select Options -> Add stopover and select your destination point (either by selecting it from your saved places or looking for an address).
You will now have 2 places displayed in the "Route" window. The departure point will be identified with a blue flag. The destination point will be identified with... a blue flag (although those with a good eyesight will notice that it's got a different pattern).
You can swap these 2 places selecting one, pressing the joystick, selecting "Move", using the Up/Down keys to move it up or down and selecting "Select" once you're done (pressing the joystick won't do it here, you *have* to press "Select").
You can also add additional stopovers by selecting the appropriate option in the "Options" menu (this is a new feature in Maps 2.0 and a quite nice one).
You're now ready to calculate the route. Go to the "Options" menu, select "Show route" and away you go.
Once the route is displayed on the map, use the Up and Down arrow to go from one turn to the over. The map will rotate accordingly. Use the Right or Left arrow to "escape" from the route and scroll around.
I couldn't find any way to exit from the route planning feature other than clicking "Back" repeatedly until you're back to the point before you started to plan your route.
To plan a route, you first need to look for your departure point and display it on the map. Then click the joystick and, in the menu, choose "Add". In the sub-menu that appears, choose "To route".
This will open a new window called "Route". From there, select Options -> Add stopover and select your destination point (either by selecting it from your saved places or looking for an address).
You will now have 2 places displayed in the "Route" window. The departure point will be identified with a blue flag. The destination point will be identified with... a blue flag (although those with a good eyesight will notice that it's got a different pattern).
You can swap these 2 places selecting one, pressing the joystick, selecting "Move", using the Up/Down keys to move it up or down and selecting "Select" once you're done (pressing the joystick won't do it here, you *have* to press "Select").
You can also add additional stopovers by selecting the appropriate option in the "Options" menu (this is a new feature in Maps 2.0 and a quite nice one).
You're now ready to calculate the route. Go to the "Options" menu, select "Show route" and away you go.
Once the route is displayed on the map, use the Up and Down arrow to go from one turn to the over. The map will rotate accordingly. Use the Right or Left arrow to "escape" from the route and scroll around.
I couldn't find any way to exit from the route planning feature other than clicking "Back" repeatedly until you're back to the point before you started to plan your route.
Unregistered
You don't have to reflash firmware to remove Beta version, but carry out "hard reset" with *#7370#
tkao2025
Sorry, but after using the new updated version of Nokia Maps, IMO the google map is still more user friendly. For some obscure reason, I find that Google seems to lock onto a satellite faster than Nokia Maps.....could that be possible:con? Nokia Maps takes so long to load and find a satellite...at the same time searches take longer than Google.
Unregistered
There is a huge problem with nokia maps 2 in the USA/Canada market.
In nokia maps 1 there was a license for USA + Canada which is a C class catagory (for pricing) as well as USA which is a B class catagory.
Well beta 2 does not have the USA + Canada catagory... which I purchased, so I cannot use my license in beta 2 and after 5 days of talking on the phone with nokia... they pull the BS "oh sorry its Beta software and we cant help you" card, instead of switching my license to USA only license.
In nokia maps 1 there was a license for USA + Canada which is a C class catagory (for pricing) as well as USA which is a B class catagory.
Well beta 2 does not have the USA + Canada catagory... which I purchased, so I cannot use my license in beta 2 and after 5 days of talking on the phone with nokia... they pull the BS "oh sorry its Beta software and we cant help you" card, instead of switching my license to USA only license.
Umberto
I did not understand well if any search needs a connection or only those for the POIs. In the first case, consider that if you have a contract with a carrier in your own contry, this contract is in general not valid abroad. So you had to pay a much of money for data transfer. I do not think this could be a great idea.
Umberto
Umberto
Unregistered
I do like the daily pay option, but I'm disappointed in the loss of the 3-year license option, as well as the option to easily route maps for free. At least here in the US, the phones are quite expensive ($600 for the N95-3), so having to shell out yet another $100 per year (basic GPS units can be had for $150-200) is a bit of a turnoff. Nokia should really include at least one year of routing for the basic selling price if they want to move phones in the US.
As for routing sans real time navigation, it could be useful, particularly if I'm reasonably familiar with the area but am not 100% sure where to go beforehand. IOW, it would be nice to be able to use Nokia Maps like MapQuest.
Something else for Nokia to consider is that Apple is likely to add GPS support in the next iPhone. If they get people hooked on a free or low-cost "iMap" or "iGPS" program, then it could undermine Nokia Maps' pricing.
As for routing sans real time navigation, it could be useful, particularly if I'm reasonably familiar with the area but am not 100% sure where to go beforehand. IOW, it would be nice to be able to use Nokia Maps like MapQuest.
Something else for Nokia to consider is that Apple is likely to add GPS support in the next iPhone. If they get people hooked on a free or low-cost "iMap" or "iGPS" program, then it could undermine Nokia Maps' pricing.
Unregistered
I am not sure if adding pay to use software in firmware is a good thing. Maybe I would like to use a different software for routing but I can't remove this app from my firmware. You pay for the phone so why dont you get the software that it comes with included in that price? When I install Vista or XP it doesn't waste my hard drive space but installing Office which I would then have to buy to use.
Nokia is welcome to make software for people to buy but including it on all phones is a different matter. I don't think it helps competition either - sure people can buy different software but most will just stick with what there.
When ever I have tried to use Maps its been a pain compared to my Tom Tom.
Routing needs a touch screen.
Nokia is welcome to make software for people to buy but including it on all phones is a different matter. I don't think it helps competition either - sure people can buy different software but most will just stick with what there.
When ever I have tried to use Maps its been a pain compared to my Tom Tom.
Routing needs a touch screen.
slitchfield
Regarding the 'searching online' bit - it seems that at least basic addresses can be searched offline and navigated too. The 'online' bit is for other map data types. But more experimentation is needed as and when Maps 2.0 matures and gets finalised.
Unregistered
I've been using maps for nearly a year now on my N95, I paid for a years sub to Western Europe and have used it in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and France. The fact that I have GPS on hand outweighs the extra usability of the stand alone devices like tom-tom and that was before the new walking mode which I put to good use last week. The city guides while not essential have proved easier than carrying about a guide book which I always seem to leave in a local bar.
For the people who moan about the costs, when did everything in life have to be free ? Nokia's subscription rates were fair, especially the option to pay for short periods of time if you were for example visiting and the only negative comments I have, are that they seem to have withdrawn the Europe option from the licensing. However unlike the gentleman with the USA, Canada issue my license transferred across 100%. Maybe he should take the plunge and just try it !
I also wish the subscription rate were published on the web, rather than being displayed on your phone when you go to purchase.
Maybe my next car will have sat-nav built in but until that point Nokia maps will do me great and makes me think twice before changing to another brand at upgrade time (although maybe that's the plan)
For the people who moan about the costs, when did everything in life have to be free ? Nokia's subscription rates were fair, especially the option to pay for short periods of time if you were for example visiting and the only negative comments I have, are that they seem to have withdrawn the Europe option from the licensing. However unlike the gentleman with the USA, Canada issue my license transferred across 100%. Maybe he should take the plunge and just try it !
I also wish the subscription rate were published on the web, rather than being displayed on your phone when you go to purchase.
Maybe my next car will have sat-nav built in but until that point Nokia maps will do me great and makes me think twice before changing to another brand at upgrade time (although maybe that's the plan)
slitchfield
Unregistered
"For the people who moan about the costs, when did everything in life have to be free ?"
are you serious? Why is this such a hard concept for everyone to understand. I have no problem with Nokia having a pay service. The problem we all have is Nokia selling us the phone one way, then removing the feature later with new firmware and charging us for it.
It's called bait and switch.
Steve, you're a total pushover for not calling Nokia out on this more than you have.
are you serious? Why is this such a hard concept for everyone to understand. I have no problem with Nokia having a pay service. The problem we all have is Nokia selling us the phone one way, then removing the feature later with new firmware and charging us for it.
It's called bait and switch.
Steve, you're a total pushover for not calling Nokia out on this more than you have.
zxon
What Nokia should've done with GPS is what they did with Lifeblog. Lifeblog is free for all users of Nokia Nseries phones. If you wanted to get it for, say, your 6680, you had to pay for it.
It should be a similar thing for the GPS - get a Nokia phone with built in GPS and use it for free. Get the software for any other Nokia phone, and pay for it by buying a Nokia-branded bluetooth GPS receiver which includes the software or something. Phones like the N95 and N81 are expensive enough as they are - more than any satnav system I've seen - why charge extra for proper GPS navigation??
It should be a similar thing for the GPS - get a Nokia phone with built in GPS and use it for free. Get the software for any other Nokia phone, and pay for it by buying a Nokia-branded bluetooth GPS receiver which includes the software or something. Phones like the N95 and N81 are expensive enough as they are - more than any satnav system I've seen - why charge extra for proper GPS navigation??
Kala-Eemeli
Me thinks there still is market for at least one kind of Map/GPS software - that kind where you can use maps from other sources. I have yet to test Nokia Maps 2.0, but at least Maps 1.0 had very poor and superficial material for the area where I usually spend my holidays (and where I need mapping software more than where I work ..). I use SmartComGPS there, as one can use 'custom' maps with it - provided that one gets them calibrated somehow.
Unregistered
"For the people who moan about the costs, when did everything in life have to be free ?"
Who said everything in life had to be free?
Who said everything in life had to be free?
bartmanekul
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by zxon
What Nokia should've done with GPS is what they did with Lifeblog. Lifeblog is free for all users of Nokia Nseries phones. If you wanted to get it for, say, your 6680, you had to pay for it.
It should be a similar thing for the GPS - get a Nokia phone with built in GPS and use it for free. Get the software for any other Nokia phone, and pay for it by buying a Nokia-branded bluetooth GPS receiver which includes the software or something. Phones like the N95 and N81 are expensive enough as they are - more than any satnav system I've seen - why charge extra for proper GPS navigation?? |
There is - the upcoming 6210 navigator. The maps licence is free, but unfortunatly no details about it are out. What countries it will cover, and what sort of licence it is. I.e. will it benefit from the free map upgrades like normal maps users? Which would essentially mean you get the best of both worlds, satnav without the subscription, but not having to pay for updates.
And taking into account how little the phone is supposed to be, theres not even an inital cost for the maps software.
zxon
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by bartmanekul
There is - the upcoming 6210 navigator. The maps licence is free, but unfortunatly no details about it are out. What countries it will cover, and what sort of licence it is. I.e. will it benefit from the free map upgrades like normal maps users? Which would essentially mean you get the best of both worlds, satnav without the subscription, but not having to pay for updates.
And taking into account how little the phone is supposed to be, theres not even an inital cost for the maps software. |
This proves that Nokia have the ability to provide free GPS navigation, but they simply won't for most of us. I bet they just want to charge everyone who paid more for their phones, thinking "Well they can afford the phone... they can afford the GPS subscription too". That's extortion!
Rafe
I'm not sure what all the fuss is about buying maps (features changes in firmware upgrades is a separate issue). If you want to use a service you pay for it. Isn't that better than having to pay for services you don't use (i.e. if the cost of all service was included in the cost of the device).
You buy a phone and you don't expect to send SMS for free (unless you have a service contract). Similarly Maps is another service you may or may not get for free when you buy a phone (there's an argument to be made for making it clearer what you get to be sure).
Incidentally the 6120 gets the navigation license for 1 year for your local market (e.g. UK and Ireland). This may vary depending on where you and who you get the phone from. The license cost is included in the phone.
We are going to see more and more of this. Nokia's Comes with Music is going to roll the cost of a music subscription into some device (i.e. you'll get unlimited free music for a year when you buy the phone).
I also expect to see some services follow other revenue models e.g. paid for by advertising.
You buy a phone and you don't expect to send SMS for free (unless you have a service contract). Similarly Maps is another service you may or may not get for free when you buy a phone (there's an argument to be made for making it clearer what you get to be sure).
Incidentally the 6120 gets the navigation license for 1 year for your local market (e.g. UK and Ireland). This may vary depending on where you and who you get the phone from. The license cost is included in the phone.
We are going to see more and more of this. Nokia's Comes with Music is going to roll the cost of a music subscription into some device (i.e. you'll get unlimited free music for a year when you buy the phone).
I also expect to see some services follow other revenue models e.g. paid for by advertising.
Unregistered
Rafe, that's wrong.
I have a TomTom cost me £95 and then not a penny more to do full route navigation. It's better at it than the N95 too.
In about 7 months I will flog it and then use the money gained towards a new one which by Moores Law will probably be even cheaper than the last one. Again, no ongoing charges, just the charge of keeping the maps up to date, which I get past by buying new ones. It works out cheaper than Nokia maps.
Nokia also have to compete against free nav options that run on the N95. Including the illegal but commonly available ones.
I had always thought that maps were a feature to give the phones a competitive edge and thus sell more phones. Seems not to be the case.
I never touch downloadable music because it's cheaper to buy on CD and rip (and less hassle than ridiculously futile DRM). I don't know anyone who is still paying for music downloads. I think maps will be only a niche player because rival products will make it unattractively expensive.
Plus, all the dam subscriptions and monthly stuff going on, I can do without any more.
I have a TomTom cost me £95 and then not a penny more to do full route navigation. It's better at it than the N95 too.
In about 7 months I will flog it and then use the money gained towards a new one which by Moores Law will probably be even cheaper than the last one. Again, no ongoing charges, just the charge of keeping the maps up to date, which I get past by buying new ones. It works out cheaper than Nokia maps.
Nokia also have to compete against free nav options that run on the N95. Including the illegal but commonly available ones.
I had always thought that maps were a feature to give the phones a competitive edge and thus sell more phones. Seems not to be the case.
I never touch downloadable music because it's cheaper to buy on CD and rip (and less hassle than ridiculously futile DRM). I don't know anyone who is still paying for music downloads. I think maps will be only a niche player because rival products will make it unattractively expensive.
Plus, all the dam subscriptions and monthly stuff going on, I can do without any more.
Rafe
Unregistered - I completely accept that different people are going to do different things...
But I would say that Nokia provides the Maps for free its just the navigation that costs (Nokia Maps is quite handy on its own in map only mode).
Sure the TomTom has it all included in the price... but if you bought all the things the Nxx can do as stand alones it would cost you a lot money. The TomTom has its own premium addons (traffic info, speed camera etc etc). Plus you may have to buy maps for new areas (and personally I'd rather pay £6 for a months use when on holiday than full price for a map I may only use for one holiday)...
And yes its not plain sailing for Nokia there is compeition but for most users (not you) the ease of having something preinstalled and ready to go is a big plus...
The reality it is not a simple equation of what is better or worse. Each has it own merits. My own opinion is that Nokia have been quite canny about appealing to the mass market (i.e. those who have the phone, dont want to buy a stand alone PND (and probably aren't heavy navigation users), etc.)
But I would say that Nokia provides the Maps for free its just the navigation that costs (Nokia Maps is quite handy on its own in map only mode).
Sure the TomTom has it all included in the price... but if you bought all the things the Nxx can do as stand alones it would cost you a lot money. The TomTom has its own premium addons (traffic info, speed camera etc etc). Plus you may have to buy maps for new areas (and personally I'd rather pay £6 for a months use when on holiday than full price for a map I may only use for one holiday)...
And yes its not plain sailing for Nokia there is compeition but for most users (not you) the ease of having something preinstalled and ready to go is a big plus...
The reality it is not a simple equation of what is better or worse. Each has it own merits. My own opinion is that Nokia have been quite canny about appealing to the mass market (i.e. those who have the phone, dont want to buy a stand alone PND (and probably aren't heavy navigation users), etc.)
Unregistered
Navigation should be and MUST be free!
Unregistered
"(and probably aren't heavy navigation users)"
If you are not a heavy nav user why would you take a paid subscription for nav?
I would just borrow a satnav when I need one from a friend or relative.
I've ditched the N95 for nav since V20 firmware went in.
If you are not a heavy nav user why would you take a paid subscription for nav?
I would just borrow a satnav when I need one from a friend or relative.
I've ditched the N95 for nav since V20 firmware went in.
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