NEWS: Nokia fix to offer faster N95 GPS functionality

Nokia's N95 mobile sounded like a major milestone on the road to full GPS/phone/camera convergence, but in practice its slow acquisition of satellites make it a pain to use. Waiting time ranges from a theoretical best of 40 seconds to a soul-destroying 15 minutes. Now Nokia's acknowledged the problem and is about to offer a free download fix via its Smart2go mapping partner site. The patch allows the handset to use 'assisted GPS', a system whereby the network gives the device its general location, so it only needs to lock onto a single satellite instead of four. It should mean acquisition times drop to around 30 seconds.
The N95's in-built GPS doesn't come with built-in mapping of any use to the hill-walker, but can really be brought to life with ViewRanger's digital mapping software (inset pics), available from £20.



The fix will be available to download here.

Talk gear in the Trail Forums

Subscribe to Trail magazine