Nokia N95 GPS for Cars and the like

Rollo Tamasi

Hey guys,
Probably going to be buying a N95 this evening. It's primary purpose will be for calling and texting (phones still do this, I presume?). However, another reason why I am getting this phone because of its GPS.

So, some questions...

How good is the GPS on the phone? I presume it is free to use once I get the maps. Are the maps for this phone good/expensive?

Is it possible to set the N95 in the car and to hook it up to a larger screen on my dashboard so I can use it in a near exact manner to a Garmin SAT NAV?

A friend mentioned it me before that he had some bluetooth receiver setup to display his N95 GPS on a monitor before. Can't remember which friend said this though.

JoeA3

I have this phone for a couple of months now...

The GPS works well, though it takes some time to initially find the satellites on startup.

It comes with Nokia Maps pre-installed, and you can download maps onto the phone using Nokia Maploader which comes bundled with the other software.
Unfortunately, voice navigation/turn-by-turn is not free with Nokia Maps! You get a measly 3 day trial, and you pay a sub after that (around 7 or 8 euro for a month, but less if you sign up for a longer period).

So after reading around on the subject, I installed GarminXT on mine, which is free, once installed. It is however very tricky to say the least to install it!

Cyrus

garmin xt has to be purchased tho, so there is no ongoing cost after initial purchase

isnt tricky to install tho

JoeA3

Cyrus wrote: »

garmin xt has to be purchased tho, so there is no ongoing cost after initial purchase

isnt tricky to install tho

Maybe if you actually purchase it, it isn't tricky to install

stereo_steve

running route 66 works great.

Eagerly awaiting for openstreet maps to get more developed so I can use them instead.

if your looking for something to do with your N95 you can help out!

PaddyofNine

How long does it take your N95 8GB to find satellites on starting the GPS? Can you do it from inside a car? Mine takes forever...

coylemj

In my book it makes very little sense to buy a mobile phone or PDA because it has GPS capability, you're far better off buying a Bluetooth GPS receiver to feed the satellite data to the phone, that way you can place the receiver in a position where it can receive satellite signals while you sit with the phone or PDA in your hand and study the moving maps.

The comment from the previous contributor says it all - if you sit in a car with the N95 in your hand it takes ages to find a signal, if you had a seperate GPS receiver you can place it up on the front of the dashboard at the bottom of the windscreen where it has a clear view of the sky and you'll have a signal in no time.

I've recently tested two units and this one performs superbly, it's not the smallest unit of it's type but it's very fast to acquire a signal and it takes a Nokia BL-5C battery which can be replaced when it wears out. it sends the data to my Nokia E51 and I can see my progress on Nokia Maps.

http://www.holux.com/JCore/en/products/products_content.jsp?pno=223

Got it from http://www.dealextreme.com/ for 35 euros.

The other unit I tested was a Globalsat BT-368 which is a very dinky little gadget but the Holux beats it hands down on speed of acquisition.

http://www.globalsat.com.tw/eng/product_detail_00000109.htm