a box of N95

My wife’s postpaid plan has just expired requiring us to follow up on the retention of the line but for a lower plan limit.

Of the various phone units available, we went crazy in choosing between the mobile tv feature and the gps capable mobile phone.  After considering all circumstances, and upon knowing the limited availability of the mobile tv and the value-for-money of the mobile phone unit vis-a-vis the plan limit, we opted to have the Nokia N95 and its GPS capability.

Among it’s various features, only the GPS capability was the center of interest as it will be very useful in dad’s work.  We have tried the 5 MP camera and video calling features, though, and find it fairly better against other phones I’ve used (I have no other comparable phones to test it against).  We have tried a number of features to test the GPS navigation yesterday night but only this morning when we were able to really try the phone’s feature.

I’ve accessed the GPS data application from the Menu> Tools> GPS data and discovered the GPS functions of the N95 (I have not yet read the manual because I’m not in the mood for it).  The GPS does not work inside our house nor outside the terrace.  The application worked only when we tried it outside Chico Street.

Although the margin of error is slightly high (with location accuracy measured in a radius of 15 to around 100 meters), the GPS feature may still be helpful  by carefuly considering the coordinates (especially if you have one identified coordinate to look for).  On my trial run, I obtained the initial location just outside the gate and saved it as the starting point.  I browsed through the navigation and other modules of the GPS data application and was able to record my test navigation from our house to the nearest basketball court where I saved my end location.

It’s also nice to know that there are a number of reviews on the web about the phone’s GPS navigation capability.  There is also NaviGadget, a blog dedicated on collating the GPS navigation function of Nokia N95 from various locations in the net.

Dad, or better yet Jun-Jun, might be happy to know that the N95’s GPS capablity may be compatible with Google Earth just by installing the free Sports Tracker software from Nokia.  Thanks to Digital Urban for this information.

As we discover the GPS navigation features of this mobile phone, more updates will be included here.  For now, we’ll settle with what we already know and apply these during one of dad’s fieldworks.