Nokia gives you more directions
By Darius Chang
Feb 11, 2008

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--Let's face it, unless you are born with a map and compass built-in at birth, the increasingly larger urban landscape will eventually get you lost. Nokia's new range of four handsets, however, will help you find your way using a combination of GPS and its upgraded mapping software. The event--Showcase Nokia 2008--is held in conjunction with the company's press conference in Barcelona at the annual Mobile World Congress.


Nokia N96
Unlike other mobile navigation applications, which are geared for vehicular navigation, Nokia Maps 2.0 Beta features a new mode--Walk--which, coupled with the GPS hardware, is accurate enough for those who prefer to travel by foot. Integrated into the program are city guides which display prominent points of interest and, in some regions, even provide reservation details and other information. Maps 2.0 Beta is the first major revision since the application was launched a year ago. Previously, the software was available only in semi-public beta. According to the Finnish phone-maker, it plans to also release an S40 version of Maps which will be ready in the first-half of 2008. Nokia Maps 2.0 Beta is available for download here.

Navigation is not the only trick Nokia is offering with its new GPS-enabled phones. Like the HTC TyTN II, the N96 and N78 can meta-tag images with GPS data which can then be used to project the exact location the photo was taken on applications such as Google Earth. But if all you need is an online place to share your vacation pictures, Nokia's new Share on Ovi service offers unlimited storage and upload traffic.

So which are the new devices which will be using these new services? They are the Nokia N96, N78, 6220 classic and 6210 Navigator.

The Nokia N96 is an upgrade of the award-winning N95 with a whopping 16GB of internal storage space. Realizing that the entertainment needs of the consumer have shifted from sound to sight, the additional space comes in good stead for storing videos and high-resolution images taken with its 5-megapixel camera.

The N78, unlike the sliding N96, uses a candy-bar form factor and a smaller display. However, it is not content to be a poor cousin to Nokia's flagship model and adds an integrated FM transmitter to the mix. This allows the handset to stream music directly to a car's built-in stereo setup without having to deal with Bluetooth pairing or messy dongles.

The 6220 Classic, at first glance, looks like an entry-level phone, but under its hood lies a GPS chip and an impressive 5-megapixel camera module. It comes with A-GPS functionality which makes use of an assistance server such as a cell phone tower to help the handset identify the satellites to connect to, reducing the time required for a GPS fix.

The 6210 Navigator is Nokia's first handphone with an integrated compass. It also uses a built-in accelerometer in a novel way. By detecting the changes in direction and orientation, it works in conjunction with the compass to keep the map oriented in the direction of travel, a tool especially useful for backpackers who prefer to travel on foot.

With the exception of the N78, which will start shipping in Q2 2008, the other handsets should be making their way to stores by the third quarter of this year.

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taken from http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/...62037587,00.htm