Whilst Nokia delay the release of a suitable fix for the BT connection problem, it�s nice to see one developer has taken the bull by the horns and, rather than throw their hands up in the air and say �It�s Nokia�s problem, we can�t help�, try and work out why the connection is being dropped and what can be done about it to get things working.
I�ve been testing ViewRanger for a while now and although I suffered problems with the BT connection being dropped, on contacting ViewRanger�s support team, they set about resolving the problem. I�ve been sent various different versions, each with logging enabled, which has enabled them to track down the problem and, more importantly, work out a fix. Well, really a fudge, as the problem is still there (it is after all Nokia�s problem!). What they�ve done is get the program to monitor the connection status and as soon as it is dropped, force a reconnection between the N80 and the GPS receiver. Great, so now my mapping software won�t hang or crash or get lost, with its ability to actively monitor the connection status between the N80 and the GPS receiver and then force a reconnection when needed.
Whilst it night not be ideal for all applications, it gets round the problem and during the last two outings, I had the mapping software know where I was for 2 hours. The worse �downtime� I suffered was 1 minute while the software rebooted the connection automatically. Fantastic.
Er, why won�t the other software developers be this helpful and do this? Kudos to ViewRanger