[maemo-users] Google Maps Navigation takes a mobile turn
From: Kevin T. Neely ktneely at astroturfgarden.comDate: Sat Oct 31 07:56:15 EET 2009
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I find Ovi Maps on S60 to be a great program and it's a must-have for me. Like I posted earlier, I read somewhere that the Maemo version is not ready yet. I suspect it is a big part of why the N900 was delayed, though I have no direct knowledge of that. K On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 10:02 PM, Mark <wolfmane at gmail.com> wrote: > Apparently many think that Ovi Maps is just as bad as the tablet version... > > > http://mer-l-in.blogspot.com/2009/10/ovi-maps-really-is-this-best-we-can-do.html > > On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 1:27 PM, Kevin T. Neely > <ktneely at astroturfgarden.com> wrote: > > Ovi Maps uses Navteq maps. The engine is different from the mapping > > application on the N8x0 series tablets. > > > > On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 12:13 PM, Mark <wolfmane at gmail.com> wrote: > >> > >> On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 11:54 AM, Kevin T. Neely > >> <ktneely at astroturfgarden.com> wrote: > >> > That really works? I've been rocking mobile navigation for a couple > >> > years > >> > with Ovi Maps (formerly Nokia Maps), and more recently waze. The > first > >> > is > >> > excellent, the latter very promising. > >> > > >> > I understand that Ovi Maps is not quite ready for primetime on the > N900. > >> > Maybe one of the reasons they postponed the launch? > >> > > >> > K > >> > > >> > >> The Wayfinder Map app that came on the N8x0 is excruciatingly painful > >> to use for actual navigation. The map data (at least in my area of the > >> USA) is extremely out of date, and the POI database is severely > >> lacking. You can't load the whole country at once, only the western or > >> eastern half, and if you're traveling across the dividing line it > >> couldn't be any less user-friendly. You can't have more than one map > >> active at a time, so even though you can add maps at will, navigating > >> between any two of them is impossible. Trying to enter a destination > >> is an exercise in futility. If you manually pan the map and place a > >> "favorite" and use that for your destination the directions are pretty > >> good and the voice prompts are excellent, but there are so many > >> obstacles to getting to that point that the app is pretty much useless > >> for anything but showing you where you currently are. Plus, the app as > >> shipped is crippled to only show your current location - if you want > >> navigation you have to pay as much as a whole standalone navigation > >> device, but you don't get the stability or any of the other strengths > >> of the standalone devices. All of the other "navigation" apps for the > >> tablets are works in progress and none of them natively do routing. > >> Navit claims to, but if it does they've certainly hidden that > >> functionality well. RoadMap does rudimentary routing, but you have to > >> create the route manually. If you can't do routing, then you can't do > >> navigation... > >> > >> Neither Ovi nor waze is available for the tablets, and if Ovi is the > >> phone version of the tablet Map app that it appears to be, I'm less > >> than impressed. You do have to pay extra to get navigation and it more > >> than likely uses the same map data. Waze does indeed seem very > >> promising, but again they are duplicating much of what OpenStreetMap > >> has been working on for years, and everybody would benefit much more > >> if they would integrate their technology with OSM instead of striking > >> out on their own. OSM already has a huge amount of map data, but the > >> user interface is a PITA and they would greatly benefit from an app > >> exactly like waze. > >> > >> I don't own a smartphone, but Android 2.0 may be what changes my mind > >> on the matter. Even if I could afford an N900 I wouldn't risk it at > >> this point. Maybe if they are still being produced and supported in 2 > >> or 3 years I'll consider it. My mobile mapping experience thus far has > >> been with PDA, Tablet and Laptop map/navigation software, and I have > >> yet to find an application - even the expensive ones - for any of > >> those that is in the same league as even the worst standalone GPSr. > >> The usability of even my piece of junk TomTom is light years beyond > >> anything I've tried that wasn't a dedicated unit. > >> > >> Mark > >> _______________________________________________ > >> maemo-users mailing list > >> maemo-users at maemo.org > >> https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users > > > > > > > > -- > > In Vino Veritas > > http://rubbernecking.info > > > _______________________________________________ > maemo-users mailing list > maemo-users at maemo.org > https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-users > -- In Vino Veritas http://rubbernecking.info -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.maemo.org/pipermail/maemo-users/attachments/20091030/78b8137f/attachment.htm
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