Ovi Maps 3.0 Beta for mobile updated

After so many months (half a year?) of no progress there is another beta and I even cannot install it on N82 (same as previous beta) - "Component is build in - cannot install". This is ridiculous!!! Now that iPhone is going to have navigation (real navigation from TomTom and Navigon) I think I will finally switch and be done with this...

This is the final beta before release. I suspect this is a catch any last minute bugs (a preview release), where as the others really were Beta.

From my first look (updating post at the moment) I'm impressed. Generally much smoother and better performance. A lot of UI issues have been improved. Of course will have to do some real world testing, but thus far things are looking good.

Looking great on my 5800, and it scrolls real smooth. One thing I wonder though is why it can't run on landscape mode. Perhaps software differentiation from future navigation oriented S60v5 devices? Anyway, dumb decision.

Ovi map? Is everything nokia going to be ovi-fied? I'm sorry but this just seems wrong when it's so often snickered as 'euro-centric.'

(what does ovi mean anyway?)

Wow, I am really impressed by this release!

The Maps Updater program downloaded and installed the new Ovi Maps on my Nokia N95 8GB, deleted the old maps data, and then even downloaded the new version of maps data for countries which were in the phone before the installation.
No glitches.

I expected a little upgrade, but this is completely new application. Huge difference comparing to previous version 2 which was practically unusable due to unresponsiveness and slowness.
Scrolling and zooming is super smooth, really easy, and the whole feeling of using the program is MUCH better.
Maps have been improved quite a bit as well, I see the file size of some countries have increased considerably.
I have to say that I haven't tried any advanced features.

It looks like Nokia have finally nailed it!

I am starting to think again about N97 (gave up on it due to weak processor and memory and started to think about iPhone or something else) after seeing this new version, it gives me hope Nokia is finally going in the right direction, realizing the importance of good software.

All of Nokia's service are being branded Ovi.

Ovi means door in Finnish. I understand it also means kindergarten (nursery school) in Hungarian and the genitive singular of ovum (egg) in Latin.

BTW - I've now updated the story with extra details and screenshots.

Although a HUGE improvement over 2.0, there are still a few areas where it lags behind competition:
1. Zip code information should be stored locally instead of on Nokia's servers.
2. You shouldn't need Map Loader to download map packs, and instead be able to download them directly from your phone. Ditto for voices.
3. Map handling should be reworked so that map packs are handled modularly. For example, after you return from your trip to Spain, you should be able to remove just the Spain map pack. Currently, you have to remove everything, and then re-download all the packs you had(do you remember what they were? I hope so, because you have no way to find out) minus the Spain one.
4. You should be able to edit your Favourites from inside Maps.
5. All your contacts with an address should automatically appear in your Favourites
6. There should be a simplified way to say "drive/walk me home", either by adding a new menu entry, or (preferably) using a special favourite "Home" which always sits on top of the list for easy access.

One final note: the "Maps Improvements" preference is a violation of my privacy, and it shouldn't come enabled by default without my explicit consent. Those of you who don't like Nokia knowing where you are (and where you're going) each time you use Maps may want to go to Preferences/Navigation and uncheck this option.

sadly the low quality of the Japan maps is an issue to me.
I'm sticking to Google until they sort some real resolution.
sigh..

I used TomTom on N95 for years before I finally decided that I really needed a dedicated Satnav because the phone was just too much of a compromise. I still believe that, the phone is OK for getting around a city on foot but for driving, it's dedicated device all the way.

Before I look at Maps 3.0 is there anything that was free gratis on 2.0 that is lost to premium cost service on 3.0?

New to this version 3 which looks like a clear improvement in speed & usability versus 2. What's not obvious to me is how one enables the phone app to show 3D landmarks (e.g. Tower Bridge, Eiffel tower). Looked in tools>settings>categories, went online with the app, etc. Still no buildings shown. Can anyone please enlighten me (& tell Nokia to make this a bit more obvious)?

I can't find how to enable the 3D landmarks either!
what's going on?
Also, is Landscape mode STILL not supported on the 5800 or am I missing something?

Anyone?

rvirga wrote:Although a HUGE improvement over 2.0, there are still a few areas where it lags behind competition:
1. Zip code information should be stored locally instead of on Nokia's servers.
2. You shouldn't need Map Loader to download map packs, and instead be able to download them directly from your phone. Ditto for voices.
3. Map handling should be reworked so that map packs are handled modularly. For example, after you return from your trip to Spain, you should be able to remove just the Spain map pack. Currently, you have to remove everything, and then re-download all the packs you had(do you remember what they were? I hope so, because you have no way to find out) minus the Spain one.
4. You should be able to edit your Favourites from inside Maps.
5. All your contacts with an address should automatically appear in your Favourites
6. There should be a simplified way to say "drive/walk me home", either by adding a new menu entry, or (preferably) using a special favourite "Home" which always sits on top of the list for easy access.

2. On the plus side if you download OTA it will cache them. Probably better this way given people's data limitations. Voices can be downloaded OTA - if you change the voice it will auto-prompt you to download it.

3. Yes - I've mentioned this as annoyance. Though in the end I just got a bigger memory card.

4. You can.

5. Yes, the current Contacts access is messy.

6. Yes. It would be nice to have favourites favourites.

Unregistered wrote:New to this version 3 which looks like a clear improvement in speed & usability versus 2. What's not obvious to me is how one enables the phone app to show 3D landmarks (e.g. Tower Bridge, Eiffel tower). Looked in tools>settings>categories, went online with the app, etc. Still no buildings shown. Can anyone please enlighten me (& tell Nokia to make this a bit more obvious)?

tonyreilly wrote:I can't find how to enable the 3D landmarks either!
what's going on?
Also, is Landscape mode STILL not supported on the 5800 or am I missing something?

I saw 3D landmarks in Barcelona, but not in London (where I know there are some). I wonder if there is something wrong with the map data. Might be a good idea to report this as a bug to beta labs?

They are out of their minds to ask for that kind of money. For 60�, you can get a regional Route 66, or the whole Europe for 120�, and then you can get the speed camera lists from the Internet. Or you can get a dedicated navigator for not much more.

The free part of Ovi Maps looks very good, though. It is very surprising that you have to pay so much to get so little more. At half the price it might be a good deal, but not a penny or euro cent more.

Ovi means door. It's finnish. Nokia is finnish 😉

Rafe wrote:1. Yes agree it would be nice.

2. On the plus side if you download OTA it will cache them. Probably better this way given people's data limitations. Voices can be downloaded OTA - if you change the voice it will auto-prompt you to download it.

3. Yes - I've mentioned this as annoyance. Though in the end I just got a bigger memory card.

4. You can.

5. Yes, the current Contacts access is messy.

6. Yes. It would be nice to have favourites favourites

1. This was not intented to be a wish list, but rather a report on how all other navigation programs I've used work. I apologize for the confusion.
2. Nokia Maps cannot download OtA an entire country's map pack. It can only download maps of smaller areas, in a on-demand fashion. Given my data plan's extreme limitations (most of the time, I don't have a data plan 😊), I prefer to download the entire map pack for my country when I'm connected to my house's or office's wifi, rather than having Nokia Maps download maps whenever it feels like.
3. If only the problem could be solved by a bigger card. What happens when a map pack gets an update? On Route66, which handles map packs modularly, it downloads and install the new one after erasing the old one. How does Nokia Maps handle updates? Well, first of all, unless you use Map Loader frequently, you may never know there's an update available, since Maps always use the cached version. When you launch Map Loader, you get a "there's an update for your maps" message. It doesn't tell you what was updated. If you have stored the maps for the entire Europe on your phone, and if you somehow know that only Vatican City maps have changed, you might decide it's not worth updating. But Map Loader doesn't tell you, so you cannot make that judgement call. And how is the update itself handled? By making a clean slate, and downloading everything again from scratch.
4. I can rename them and/or change the icon. To edit all other information (e.g. phone #), I have to use a separate application.
6. Again, it was not meant to be a wish list entry, but something other navigation programs (Route66, Garmin) offer.

Have installed Maps 3.0 and it seems pretty good. There seems to be a 7 day trial licence available, on the Nokia site, although I have put my number in, and supposed to send a 7 day licence code .. but still nothing.

Has anyone tried this and got the trial licence code.

I have sent an email to Nokia, am just waiting for reply ... if I actually get one

hello frns ....
i was able to install th map3 application without any problem but i am unable to load my country map to 5800 with nokia map loader ........ it say some error statement
did any1 face the same prob ..............

When I first installed the new Maps Loader it came up in very garish colours offering three tabs, the third being licences. When I next used it the third tab had gone as had the garish colours. Despite reloading I cannot get the third tab back.

Any ideas anyone?

As another query, does Ovi Maps work with the Samsung Omnia HD or is it locked to Nokia mobiles only?

Ovi Maps is made by Nokia exclusively for its phones.
The Omnia HD, at least the sim-free unlocked version, comes with the latest Route 66, which is much better than Ovi Maps. Careful, however, that is not installed by default: it's on the internal flash drive, under Samsung/Apps.

Thanks for the info Rvirga. I'm thinking of going for the Omnia HD so it's reassuring to know there's a decent GPS program for it.

Works fine on my N82!
The new features are great.
By the way, Ovi means "door".

@Jejoma:
Actually, there are several. Apart from Route 66, which comes with the phone, the following three programs work well on the HD:
Garmin Mobile XT (version 5.00.30 or later)
Sygic McGuider (version 7.71 or later)
NDrive Symbian
They all have a touch-based interface and can use the i8910's internal GPS. Having been designed in collaboration with Samsung, however, Route 66 is the only one currently capable of using the internal digital compass.

I lost my maps licence after upgrading to maps 3 on the E90. Reinstalled to be sure and tried to enter my licence code again. Can't transfer drive and walk licence to maps 3. I see others have been having this trouble on the nokia beta site (bug reports). With nearly a year to run on the licence its too expensive to buy a new licence. Back to maps 2 for me.

ermm.. I installed Maps 3, started it, it said checking licences, then it says 90 day UK/ireland drive+walk licence activated

eh? I havent bought any licence.. so what is this?

when Nokia upgrade/update their slow default web browser for N97?

Opera mini loads fast than nokia one but no flick scroll and java based program
skyfire and ozone are TAKING so much time to support V5 touch!!

dissappointed

For those of you (me included) who had noticed that the 3D buildings in Maps had disappeared since the new release, here is the laughable response from the Nokia Maps team....

[INDENT]We�ve noticed that a number of you have mentioned that you cannot see the 3D landmarks on the map. In order to view 3D landmarks you need to have the City Explorer license or any of the Drive licenses. Please also note that 3D landmarks are available for about 200 cities globally. During the early Beta releases, we enabled to 3D landmarks for �free� in order for evaluation.

Regards,

Kee
Maps Team[/INDENT]

Quite ridiculous!

Another great reply from Nokia that I have received. I sent them an email stating that the 7-day trial code from the website sent via SMS did not get to my phone, they replied asking for other details, which I supplied and also suggested sending to another phone / network provider, which I did .. and still did not receive.

Emails, went back and forth and my last email basically said, it still will not work from your site, so are you able to send the licence key to me, the cracking reply was :

I hope this email finds you well. We apologise that we are unable to send you a license code via email. If you could kindly read the terms and conditions:

7. Nokia cannot be held responsible for technical failures experienced by your network operator preventing the delivery of the free licence code.

I apologise for any inconvenience caused by this matter, Steve. I have forwarded your feedback to the relevant department.

What superb customer service .. NOT

Albie999 I tried to fill the form to have the free licence and all seemed OK but I received no sms with the unlock code after 4 days. I tried again with the form but the answer was something like "the licence is already active" but I verified I have no the license on my phone. Then I contacted the ContactCenterEurope by e-mail but I obtained no answer after 1 day.

So, we have the same problem but no solutions.

Phone: N95-1