Nokia Maps 2.0 available

Nokia Maps 2.0 beta has been announced today at Mobile World Congress. This is a great update for Nokia Maps application. It's still beta and therefore not supported by Nokia Care. For more information read Ricky's preview on symbian-guru.com. To download, visit Nokia Beta Labs.

Nokia Maps is taking maps and navigation experiences to the next level and introducing Walk - pedestrian navigation, in addition to Drive - world class car navigation, multimedia city guides, satellite maps and other innovative features. With free maps of more than 150 countries, over 15 million points-of-interest, the world is in your pocket. Don't get lost or choose to get lost in the right places to explore, and let Nokia Maps show you the way.

Location Tagger

Nokia Betalabs has released another great beta application called Location Tagger. It allows you to automatically tag your location data to your pictures. GPS coordinates are saved to the EXIF header of the JPEG file. This application is intended to give you a sneak preview of features that are planned to be integrated into your phone. Looking forward to future firmware updates with these features implemented.

Top 5 free applications for N95 - updated list

I first made the list of top 5 free applications for N95 in July. A lot has happened since then and I think it's time to update the list.

TOP 5 FREE APPLICATIONS FOR N95

1. RotateMe v2.0 - This is a beta version but the final version should be released soon. RotateMe jumps straight to first place on my list. It's a great tool that allows you to switch from landscape to portrait mode automatically by tilting the phone.
   
2. Google Mobile Maps - The latest version of Google Maps supports the internal GPS receiver. It also shows your an estimation of your location even if you don't have a GPS signal.
3. SportsTracker - New version of Sports Tracker was launched in November and Nokia also launched Nokia Sports Tracker Beta Web Service.
4. Widsets - Widsets is not really a single application but a platform for mini-applications called widgets. Widgets bring you content from your favorite websites to your phone.
5. Opera Mini - Great web browser if you don't have an unlimited data plan - Opera Mini helps you save money by reducing the amount of data transferred

New firmware version now available

Firmware version v20.0.0.015 is now available for Nokia N95. Lots of improvements including new camera software, new version of Maps application and most importantly Demand Paging. I just installed the new firmware and I can confirm that demand paging really makes a big difference. The phone seems so much faster now.

Nokia N95 Software version 20.0.015 released - 26 November 2007

This software version includes battery, stability & performance improvements enabling you to run faster and longer - giving you up to three more hours of music (up to 30% increase, from 9h to 12h of music playback). This release also includes a new version of Nokia Maps which provides faster positioning, faster Map Loader, and free 3-day navigation. Free N-Gage demo games are included and other games are available via Download! With the Nokia Music Store now live in the United Kingdom, users can enjoy the convenience of instant over-the-air downloads, regardless of where they are.

After updating your device software to 20.0.015, and restoring your personal data, you can optimise the menu layout by installing the New_Menu_Structure.SIS file. Download and install this file to rearrange your menu layout specifically for SW 20.0.015. Reboot your device to see the menu changes.

It's been a while since my last post. First I was on holiday and then traveling for business and there just wasn't enough time to update my blog. I didn't even have much time to follow what was happening in the world of Nokia and N95. What a surprise when I visited Nokia Beta Labs yesterday. The betalabs team has been busy.
There are new versions of:

• Sports Tracker
• NSeries PC Suite 2.0
• Gizmo for S60
• Mobile Web Server
• Wellness Diary
• Device Status

And if that isn't enough, there are completely new application as well:

• Internet Tablet Video Converter
• Advertising Powered Download!
• Nokia Audiobooks
• Mosh Client

Looking forward to test many of these in the coming days.

Nokia Beta Labs

In addition to the not so succesful launh of Nseries PC Suite 2.0, Nokia beta labs has recently introduced three great applications:

• Conversation - "Conversation is a messaging application that allows you to follow your conversations, organized by individual contacts. In addition, the application provides an easy way for replying to messages, and to continue the conversations."
• Share Online - "Share Online makes it easy to post photos and video from your phone straight to your blog, photo sharing site, or other online community. You can control the file size and quality of your photos and video, add text to your posts, and browse to your page to see how it looks once you`re done."
• Device Status - "Nokia Device Status is a self-diagnosis tool that allows you to collect detailed system information both from your PC and your S60 device. Your current device configuration and phone settings are presented in a detailed summary, which you can use to determine the exact cause, if you run into problems."

Keep an eye on Nokia Beta Labs for great free applications for your phone.

Finally - Google Maps with GPS for N95

This is great news for all of us N95 users. The latest version of Google Mobile Maps now supports the internal GPS of N95. To see your location on the map, go to menu and select "Show my location".

To install point your phone's browser to www.google.com/gmm and follow the instructions.