Need some advice about Nokia N95 8gb

[SAFC Craig]

getting one of these refurbished from o2 but was curious about some of its functions and was wondering if anybody else had one that can help me out (o2 didnt have a clue)

- with the built in sat nav, how good is the signal compared to a standard gps and can the maps be updated?

- how good is the battery life, im looking to mainly use it as a gps and was wondering how long it would last

- last but not least is there any way to expand the memory, it doesnt seem to have a memory card slot but i know the original n95 accepts micro sd cards.

thankyou in advance for answers, im new onto the forum so dont all shoot me at once

[chrestomanci]

getting one of these refurbished from o2 but was curious about some of its functions and was wondering if anybody else had one that can help me out (o2 didn't have a clue)

- with the built in sat nav, how good is the signal compared to a standard gps and can the maps be updated?

On the N95 the GPS antenna is behind the keyboard, so you will get best reception if you open the keyboard (and don't have your fingers over it).

As for how good the GPS recever is, compared with others, how long it a piece of string? There are lots of GPS chipsets out there. The N95 Uses the SRF Star II Chipset, which is fairly diecent, but not 100% bang up to date. As with any GPS recever, you will get a first fix more quickly if you remain stationary in an outdoor location with a good view of the sky. Once you have a fix then it should maintain lock even if the conditions get worse. (most chipsets can maintain lock with a 30dB weaker signal than they need to get a fix in the first place). Recent versions of the Nokia firmware include A-GPS (assistive GPS), which should get you a fast first fix, so you should check that you have the most recent firmware & update if necessary.

As for updating the maps, then yes you can. You should head over to the Nokia Maps site, where you will find a maps downloader application. It will download maps for any part of the world from their website onto your phone. While you are there, it would be a good idea to download version 2 of the maps navigation software, as it is much improved in many areas. It is also possible for the phone to download maps on demand over the cellular network, but unless you are on an unlimited data plan this will be expensive.

- how good is the battery life, im looking to mainly use it as a gps and was wondering how long it would last

I don't know how good the battery life is in comparison with other phones, as I have not used an N95. I know that one of the differences between the original N95 and the 8Gb version was that they fitted a bigger battery. If you use the GPS a lot, it will empty the battery fairly fast, as it keeps the screen on all the time. (The GPS itself does not use much power). If you are planning to use the GPS software for in car navigation, you should buy a car holder with a charger to keep the battery topped up. If you want it for pedestrian navigation, then it would be best to background the GPS application when you are not actually looking at it, so that it does not keep the screen lit in your pocket. (you will still hear voice prompts).

- last but not least is there any way to expand the memory, it doesn't seem to have a memory card slot but i know the original n95 accepts micro SD cards.

I think the micro SD card slot was one of the features they removed compared with the original N95, so no I don't think so.

I work for Nokia BTW.

[Templar87]

I've had an N95 8GB for a few months now. Using the factory settings battery life was about a day. However, I have now turned off bluetooth and wifi scanning (when not in use), changed from 3G+GSM to GSM network only, set my screensaver to a black background with white text (default is opposite). I get around 2-3 days with light use, which is fine for me as I charge it every night anyway - of course it might not be for you.

As for GPS, I've found the GPS receiver itself to be good and coupled with Garmin software it is pretty accurate. The Nokia maps software, however, I've never used and can't comment on - although if you're going to pay for sat-nav I'd recommend Garmin or TomTom as you can download the maps from home, saving your data plan from being hammered. In terms of battery with GPS, I'd recommend getting an in-car charger and just keeping it plugged in if you plan on doing any more than a few hours driving.

Lastly, as chrestomanci says, there's no way to expand the in-built 8GB

[Washdogg]

get one. i dont think you'll regret it.

[chrestomanci]

I've had an N95 8GB for a few months now. Using the factory settings battery life was about a day. However, I have now turned off bluetooth and wifi scanning (when not in use), changed from 3G+GSM to GSM network only, set my screensaver to a black background with white text (default is opposite). I get around 2-3 days with light use, which is fine for me as I charge it every night anyway - of course it might not be for you.

All good advice, except for the bit about colour scheme. Like all LCD screens, the back light will use the same amount of power regardless of how much black there is on screen, so the colour scheme makes no difference to the battery life.

As for GPS, I've found the GPS receiver itself to be good and coupled with Garmin software it is pretty accurate. The Nokia maps software, however, I've never used and can't comment on - although if you're going to pay for sat-nav I'd recommend Garmin or TomTom as you can download the maps from home, saving your data plan from being hammered. In terms of battery with GPS, I'd recommend getting an in-car charger and just keeping it plugged in if you plan on doing any more than a few hours driving.

As I said, there is a PC application to download maps over your home connection and copy them onto the phone, so you need not use your data plan if you don't want to. You should be able to fit maps of the entire world in your 8GB memory.

With the nokia software, you can view maps of where you are, and of other places for free, but if you want to use if for navigation then there is a charge. Unlike Garmin or Tom tom, it is subscription based so if you only need a weeks worth of usage, then you need only pay a few quid for that. For that reason, I would recommend the Nokia software for ocasonal users. If you are going to be using it all the time though, I would recommend Tom tom over the Nokia software. Nokia looks nicer, but I have found that in actual use it is not as easy to use, both in the user interface and the routes it choses.

I work for Nokia, and have used both the Nokia and Tom Tom software.

[Templar87]

Ah, I didn't realise Nokia maps had that facility - I stand corrected.

On the screensaver front I also stand corrected - although I do also have my screen brightness turned to its lowest setting which helps somewhat (surely!? )

[SAFC Craig]

which sat nav software shall i go for then, tomtom or garmin?

tried to use the nokia maps last night while driving and it keeps trying to use o2's network to get a signal, im on unlimited data with o2 but would much rather use the internal gps, is there a way to only have nokia maps use the internal gps

sorry for all the questions, its the first nokia ive purchased (always been sony ericssons for me)

[chrestomanci]

which sat nav software shall i go for then, tomtom or garmin?

No idea. Can you get a shareware style demo for any of them? I know that you can get a free 3 day trial of the Nokia nav software.

tried to use the nokia maps last night while driving and it keeps trying to use o2's network to get a signal, im on unlimited data with o2 but would much rather use the internal gps, is there a way to only have nokia maps use the internal gps

It is using the internal GPS to find out where you are. The reason it wants a celular connection is so that it can look up postcodes and points of interest. By default the maps program will go online as soon as you start it, so it can keep you updated of any POIs you pass, and do postcode searches quickly. You can force it to work offline if you prefer.

[SAFC Craig]

thankyou for the advice everyone, just got tomtom to run on the mobile, finds a signal quicker than my actual tomtom!

[mwoody]

I had the original N95 and the battery life was appauling, especially when using the wifi/gps

But just as a phone, i wouldnt complain to much!