N97 vs E72 vs E75 GPS — Nokia Nseries S60 5.0 phones (Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 mini)

nottmbantam 30 Jul 2010, 09:51

Ditched the N97 in April, and bought the E72, but that has now been 'requisitioned' by my daughter, so bought a used E75 to keep me going til I see something that ticks all the boxes.

Have tried using all three with Nokia Maps and here is my summary / experiences FWIW.

N97 - I didn't get the GPS fixed, as I thought it was ok. Updated to the free Ovi Maps and voice guidance. It was ok, slow even though I had downloaded country maps for Saudi, the accuracy was around 200 metres out. Not good when deciding which immediate turn to take.

E72 - THis phone also comes with free Ovi Mpas guidance. Was pretty good, but again the accuracy was not perfect, still some lag, and again, had downloaded the country maps to the phone.

E75 - Best one yet. Accuracy is spot on, perfect turn by turn directions, as good as Tom Tom I had used in the UK. But, this phone does not come with free voice guidance, so I did get a free 90 day licence. Navigated around Riyadh yesterday perfectly

Strangely enough, the E75 is about the lowest specc'd phone out of three, with the deciding feature being the camera, a mere 3.2mp. N97 was the highest spec with FM Transmitter, stereo speakers, TV out, built in memory. The N97 would have needed a GPS fix for it work better, but the E75 locks on almost straight away, very impressive I have to say.

Although I only go the phone as a makepiece, I can see me holding onto it for a bit longer. THe only downside is the lower C Drive memory, slower CPU, and this does make a difference when for example, connecting to the Gmail client, it does noticeably run slower. But I digress, this was only to talk about the GPS.

So, those of you who have not yet fixed the N97 GPS issue, I suggest you do it sooner rather than later.

Thanks.

to_sukanta 30 Jul 2010, 16:11

You spoke of my mind..... My N97 mini takes ages to lock on... but if it locked on... its accuracy is pretty perfect...(with Ovi map and with "MapMyIndia" maps)
But as you pointed out.. its lock time makes it pretty useless... (and any GPS system in India to be fair... Probably has the most chaotic traffic system in world)... But I found that its get locked quickly if my 7th floor appt and even if its lost the signal after initial locking.. its locked quickly there after..
Once I tested my mini with my friend's HTC HD... both of us using same program..( MapMyIndia... Different version of cource) and my mobile take whole 10 min more to take a lock.... ba experience.. [😞]

Stuntman 30 Jul 2010, 18:41

I have the N97. I find that it sometimes it takes a while for it to identify the location, while other times, it picks it up fairly quickly. I use both Ovi Maps and Google Maps (depending on which features I need). At first, it seems that Google Maps seem to identify the location faster, although that may be an anomoly when I first got Google Maps. Over time, both apps seem to take roughly the same amount of time to identify the location.

One thing I notice is that with Ovi Maps, it sometimes thinks I'm on a road adjacent to the one I'm actually on. I notice, it thinks I may be taking an exit which I am not. With Google Maps, it has a halo identifying the accuracy of the GPS at the time. With Ovi Maps, it has the halo at first, but then locks onto a street. While driving, I never seem to notice this halo showing up on Ovi Maps once it locks onto my location. With Google Maps, occasionally, it shows the halo indicating it doesn't have an exact fix. I haven't tried driving the same road again with the other mapping app when I notice anomolies, so I cannot confirm if it is an artifact of the mapping app or just the conditions that that time.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with the GPS capabilities on my N97. My only issue is with the compass, but I believe it is an issue with the metal or magnetic properties of my car than the GPS device. I have had compass issues with old fashoned, physical, magnetic compasses always pointing east while inside my car. If I go outside of my car, the physical and digital compasses work properly.

to_sukanta 31 Jul 2010, 06:48

@Stuntman -- I sometime notice the halo effer you describe...If you are in road where a flyover going parallel to you.. its think that you are on the flyover and so it gives a dirrection accordingly... (Going to the end of flyover.. U turn and came back to underway... where a simple left or right exit is required).. But I guess its the limitation of GPS system... How it would determine you are on the flyover or in the road under of it..