GPS phones - what are my options?

[Shad]

I'd like a phone with GPS mainly so that I will always know my position in case of an emergency (i.e. breaking down on a random drive). I've done a little looking into this today and so far there are 3 options, but firstly let me tell you what is important:

1. Size - I've got an SE K850 at the moment and don't really want anything bulkier than that
2. Battery - must last a full day of normal use, including limited GPS usage
3. Camera - I find it useful to take pictures every now and again - but I don't need amazing quality, it's just a phone after all

So I've been looking at 3 Nokias since SE don't have anything with GPS yet?

• 6210 Navigator
• 6220 Classic
• N78

I was firstly impressed with the feature set of the 6210 for the price, but honestly I'm not a big fan of the slide. 3.2mp camera is fine, 2Gb SD card is great and the mapping software appears good (although I've read otherwise already - I don't plan on using it to replace my TomTom so hopefully any downfalls of the software are not such a big deal) and a 2.4" screen.

Then there's the 6220 which is in the form factor I like best and has a nice camera with a decent lens, but I think only comes with a 1Gb card and the screen is shrunk to 2.2" (although the same res as the 6210).

Then there's the N78 which seems good but the buttons look odd and it seems to have a price increase just because it's an N-Series? It also doesn't have the GPS blue star button that the first two have (which is a shame, I think that's a nice feature). It's also a tad on the large side.

So that's what I've learned so far. I'm edging towards the 6220. What have I missed? What are my other options? I don't want to spend a fortune but I will probably end up buying the phone sim-free seeing as I'm in the middle of a long Vodafone contract.

Cheers!

[Shad]

Ok... does anyone know a more suitable place for me to ask these questions?

[charger]

theres the HTC Touch Diamond and in terms of sony the c702 has gps navigation and i think most people will have their eyes on the sony ericsson xperia x1 smartphone which im after as well later in the year that will have gps and a decent camera and probably the best battery life bar any other phone manufacturer on the market imho.

[pritsey]

I use an N95, have Nokia maps, Google maps, Garmin Mobile XT and TomTom installed (use with BT GPS). However as you say size is an issue (fnarfnar) would you consider taking a BT GPS with you (ie leave in car) and using something like a Nokia 6120 Classic? I used to have one and actually miss the little fella! Small size and still a S60 smartphone - same CPU as N95 too.

Also - check out the SE W760i. Walkman phone from SE with inbuilt GPS, fairly new I think, but it is a slider and you said you wanted a candybar....

[Bossworld]

The nokia built in GPS was never great on the original N95, i'm not sure if they improved it on the 8GB version

I've currently got an old N70 with tomtom 5 on, got a relatively newish map (660.1223) which is the newest that will work with mine (still doesn't have the ferrybridge bypass on the A1 though!)

hooked it up to a bluetooth GPS (holux/navicore with Sirf III chipset - apparently one of the better ones) and it's been fantastic.

There is an unoffical patch to make the internal gps of the N95 etc. work with tomtom but it involves faffing about

Basically, if you can get hold of an older cheaper phone, it might be worth looking into the external gps option

[MaddAussie]

I.ve just got a XDA Orbit 2 (HTC Polaris) its the win, works very well, infact its faster recalculating routes than My old Navman F20 that its replaced

[dybydx]

The nokia built in GPS was never great on the original N95, i'm not sure if they improved it on the 8GB version

Yeah, I agree the built in on the first N95 (silver) took AGES to log onto enought satellites before it worked... Some people have said the 8GB N95 is better...

There is an unoffical patch to make the internal gps of the N95 etc. work with tomtom but it involves faffing about

Any further info?


Cheers.

[pritsey]

I wouldn't say it takes that long to find enough satellites, not just because I use one either!

I've tried that hack for TomTom as well and couldn't get it working straight away so gave up!

As with all converged devices, there's a trade off. The N95 probably isn't the quickest in terms of GPS, but then again, I've used a few other devices which weren't exactly quick off the mark either - notably WM devices. The new 6220 classic looks promising, still a bit pricey though.

dybydx - look for GPSd on tinterweb for that hack, it's a .jar file and there's probably a bluetooth hack file too.

[autopilot]

I have tried a number of options over the last few years, including Windows Mobile and Symbian. Basically you have two first chose which mobile OS to go with. The three main ones right now are obviously Windows Mobile, Symbian (Nokia etc) and the iPhone.

Windows mobile - Tend to be bigger devices and battery can be an issue (but if in a car, you will have a charger). Windows mobile is not for everyone either. However, Depends on the chipset used, but in my experience Windows Mobile devices often have better GPS performance/reception than Symbian. Also, there is a LOT more GPS software available for Windows Mobile. Touch screen is a massive advantage over Symbian.

iPhone - don't have one partly because i dont think the platform is mature enough in this area and there is not much GPS software for it yet. I can see this situation changing soon though, with talk of TomTom etc, but i will wait another year (and im not that bothered anyway). Its also a bit big for me. Again, touch screen gives it a massive advantage over Symbian for sat nav though.

Symbian - Some good options now (still no tomtom mind), but although they seem better than the utterly awful original N95's GPS performance did, they are still not brilliant. Still fine though for occasional use and, like the 6220c, some nice small pocketable phones for us who dont need the bloat. The other big problem with symbian is the lack of touch screen, so you cant use them while driving.

I have the 6220c and overall i am more than pleased with it. Cheap, small and has a great camera. It comes with 3 months free navigation with nokia maps 2. however, i would not pay for it - get garmin xt or copilot. But its lucky i have three free months of Maps2.0 navigation; the 6220c is an s60 feature pack 2 phone which a lot of software does not work on, and as far as i know garmin and copilot dont work yet. i was going to get the N78, but the keypad is horrible and it just has lots of features i dont ever need, like WiFi and a FM tranmitter.

That said, nothing i have tried is as good as a proper dedicated device or my Holux bluetooth unit. My nice for the odd occation, but i would not want to rely on them

[Shad]

Thank you chaps

I went with the N78 in the end, very happy with it so far although the voice instructions from Nokia Maps are sometimes a bit off, e.g. telling me to take the first exit from a roundabout when she actually means straight over/second exit. I'll be trying the Garmin offering when it's compatible with FP2. It does pick up a GPS fix nice and quickly though, even with the assistance switched off.

But yeah pleased as punch, the WiFi is great and I've ordered an 8gb card to stick some music on and really make use of the FM transmitter (which has been very good so far!). Build quality is great too, loving Symbian, and Nokias PC software is massively better than Sony-Ericssons.

My initial concerns about the size and buttons are not big issues in reality. Because it's significantly thinner than my old K850i it fits better in my pocket, despite being noticeably longer. The Navi-wheel thing is a little temperamental but writing using the keypad is fine certainly with my small fingers.

It's good to have a Nokia again, my last one was an 8310 so it's been a while, and it's good to see they are still making quality products. In contrast, I've had four K series SE phones (K700 through to K850) and the quality has gone from great to decidedly iffy.

[tommys]

I have a N95 and I think that it's too slow.

[pritsey]

I have a N95 and I think that it's too slow.

Too slow for what? I used mine at the weekend with Garmin XT, Nokia Maps and Google maps and it was pretty much up to scratch.

Do you mean too slow on time to fix?

[Lee H]

If your on about the slow synch, update the phone to the LATEST firmware as this gives the phone A-GPS support (A for Assisted) and this makes it get synch and locks on the signal a lot quicker.

[pritsey]

Perhaps that's why I don't see my N95 as being all that slow. As soon as I got it I changed the product code and flashed to the latest FW.

[mnstar]

I am happy with my N95 and Route 66