Nokia N95 continues to impress but GPS sucks on it

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My Nokia N95 continues to impress. I took it out and shot some pictures at sunset. Can your camera phone make images like this one? Here’s my entire Flickr stream. I’m using Shozu to get images up to Flickr automatically from the phone.

Some other thoughts? I love my readers. They tend to let me know where I’ll hit trouble spots before I even know about them. Several people said the battery life and GPS sucks in the Nokia N95. My battery life has been fine, but then I charge it every night. I don’t think it’d survive more than two days without a charge. The GPS? Frustrating to use. You’ve gotta be outside and even then it takes several minutes to get a “fix.”

Since that’s one feature the iPhone doesn’t have, that tells me that Steve Jobs was probably smart in leaving GPS off of the iPhone.

But the camera in this thing is awesome. It even autofocuses and has a little LED flash, both features that the iPhone doesn’t have.

It’s the one reason why I’ll probably keep the N95. Having a cell phone camera that’s pretty good matters a LOT to me. But, to Maryam? Not at all. So she’ll probably end up with the iPhone cause she needs a new phone anyway.

Oh, and yesterday I was over at Adobe meeting with its new blogger/evangelist Ryan Stewart. I shot an image of a bunch of wires overhead and Kevin Devin wrote in the Flickr comments “Geek Porn.” Heheh.

Other things I’m running: Google’s Mobile Maps, which now includes traffic data for Silicon Valley. That really rocks. A lot more than the GPS in the phone (although I wish the GPS worked better and was hooked up with Google’s maps).

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Published by Robert Scoble

I give you a front-row seat on the future. Focusing most of my efforts now on next-generation augmented reality and artificial intelligence, AKA "mixed reality." SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER: http://clevermoe.com/scobleizer-news/ BUY OUR NEW BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Transformation-Robert-Scoble/dp/1539894444 "The Fourth Transformation: How augmented reality and artificial intelligence will change everything." WATCH MY LATEST SPEECHES: State of VR with Philip Rosedale (done in VR itself, very cool): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zAA1EVGUZU At GEOINT, June 2017: http://trajectorymagazine.com/glimpse-new-world/ Augmented World Expo, June 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xHILvLD8E At Leade.rs, April 2017: https://youtu.be/52_0JshgjXI +++++++++++ BIO: Scoble gives you a front-row seat on the future. Literally. He had the first ride in the first Tesla. Siri was launched in his house. He's been the first to share all sorts of technologies and companies with you, from Flipboard to Pandora to Instagram. Today he's focusing on mixed reality, AKA "next-generation augmented reality" which will include a new user interface for EVERYTHING in your life (IoT, Smart Cities, driverless cars, robots, drones, etc). That's based on his view thanks to his past experience as futurist at Rackspace. Best place to find Scoble? On his Facebook profile at https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble He has been a technology blogger since 2000, was one of five people who built Microsoft's Channel 9 video blog/community, worked at Fast Company Magazine running its TV efforts, and has been part of technology media businesses since 1993. ++++++++ SPEAKER PITCH: Apple and Facebook now have revealed their Augmented Reality strategies, which means your business needs one too. Rely on Robert Scoble, the world's top authority on AR, to bring to your conference what businesses should do next. SPEECH ABSTRACT #1: TITLE: The Fourth Transformation: What's next in mixed reality (AR and AI) and the future of technology? Here's an example of this talk at Leade.rs in Paris in April, 2017: https://youtu.be/52_0JshgjXI Why "the Fourth Transformation?" Soon we will have phones and glasses that do full on augmented reality. Everything you look at will potentially be augmented. This world is coming in late 2017 with a new iPhone from Apple, amongst other products. Microsoft is betting everything on its HoloLens glasses that do mixed reality and the industry is spending many billions of dollars in R&D and funding new companies like Magic Leap. This future will be the user interface for IoT, Smart Cities, autonomous cars, robots, drones, and your TV. This is a big deal and Robert will take you through what mixed reality is and how it will change every business. Learn more about Robert's speaking style and contact his agent at http://odemanagement.com/robert-scoble/Robert-Scoble.html ++++++++ SPEECH ABSTRACT #2: "The Next Two Clicks of Moore's Law." Over the next four years, or two clicks of Moore's Law, a ton about our technology world will change. Scoble will bring you the best from his travels visiting R&D labs, startups, and innovators around the world. He views the world through his rose-colored-mixed-reality glasses, which will be the new user interface for self driving cars, Smart Cities, IoT, and many other things in our world. He'll send you off with some lessons for companies both large and small. ++++++++ SPEECH ABSTRACT #3: "Personalized Meaning: What is Augmented Reality For?" As we enter a far more technological world where even cars drive themselves, I predict we'll see a blowback toward the analog, more authentic world. What role does augmented reality play in both worlds? Get Scoble's insight into where augmented reality is going, see tons of real-world demos, and understand what he means by 'personalized meaning.' CONTACT: If you are looking to contact me, email is best: scobleizer@gmail.com. ++++++++ ENDORSEMENTS: IZEA Top 25 Tech Influencers: https://izea.com/2017/07/07/25-top-tech-influencers/ Time: One of the top 140 Twitterers! FT: One of the five most influential Twitterers! Inc. Top 5 on list of Tech Power Players You Need to Know: http://www.inc.com/john-rampton/30-power-players-in-tech-you-need-to-know.html Next Reality: #4 on top 50 AR influencer list: https://next.reality.news/news/nr50-next-realitys-50-people-watch-augmented-mixed-reality-0177454/

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47 thoughts on “Nokia N95 continues to impress but GPS sucks on it”

  1. The first link (this one) points to a story about Rocketboom….is that what you intended? Nice pics by the way.

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  2. The first link (this one) points to a story about Rocketboom….is that what you intended? Nice pics by the way.

    Like

  5. How come nobody has covered the fact that Loren’s site 1938media.com has been hacked and hijacked by a Russian crook since yesterday? It attempts to load something from the site m-gallery.org which has in it’s directories stolen keylogs.

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  6. How come nobody has covered the fact that Loren’s site 1938media.com has been hacked and hijacked by a Russian crook since yesterday? It attempts to load something from the site m-gallery.org which has in it’s directories stolen keylogs.

    Like

  9. What carrier are you with? and how fast is your data connection? snappy? does the N95 pick up some 3G network?

    I’m doubting between the N95 and the iPhone myself… Network access is high on my list.

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  10. What carrier are you with? and how fast is your data connection? snappy? does the N95 pick up some 3G network?

    I’m doubting between the N95 and the iPhone myself… Network access is high on my list.

    Like

  11. Niels: I’m with Cingular. The phone works better on the Web than my old Cingular 2125 phone. But, it will certainly be interesting to compare this with the iPhone since the iPhone supposedly has a better Web browser (according to the TV commercials I’ve seen).

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  12. Niels: I’m with Cingular. The phone works better on the Web than my old Cingular 2125 phone. But, it will certainly be interesting to compare this with the iPhone since the iPhone supposedly has a better Web browser (according to the TV commercials I’ve seen).

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  13. I don’t get what is so hard about plugging in your phone everynight. I have to do that with my treo. I plan to do that with my iphone.

    I just hope the thing has a good alarm clock on it. The Treo doesn’t but I can add my own software. Found a nice clock app called Palmary Clock wireless. I hope someone from the iphone team reads this and borrows some features. 😉

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  14. I don’t get what is so hard about plugging in your phone everynight. I have to do that with my treo. I plan to do that with my iphone.

    I just hope the thing has a good alarm clock on it. The Treo doesn’t but I can add my own software. Found a nice clock app called Palmary Clock wireless. I hope someone from the iphone team reads this and borrows some features. 😉

    Like

  15. Funny thing about the iPhone — NOTHING has been said or demoed regarding it’s built-in camera.

    As a photo enthusiast, nothing gets me riled up more than seeing folks lined up at an event and taking (what turn out to be) crappy cell phone pictures with teeny focal lengths.

    My bet is that Apple probably thought the same thing — doing a camera they could be proud of would not be possible in that tiny form factor, and the geeks that get the iPhone would most likely have a great digital compact anyhow.

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  16. Funny thing about the iPhone — NOTHING has been said or demoed regarding it’s built-in camera.

    As a photo enthusiast, nothing gets me riled up more than seeing folks lined up at an event and taking (what turn out to be) crappy cell phone pictures with teeny focal lengths.

    My bet is that Apple probably thought the same thing — doing a camera they could be proud of would not be possible in that tiny form factor, and the geeks that get the iPhone would most likely have a great digital compact anyhow.

    Like

  17. Is it actually the N95 GPS or just GPS in general. Every GPS receiver I’ve used requires you to be outside (I believe you need line of sight to the satellites to get a good signal) and have taken anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes to get a fix, depending on where I was. I use to use GPS while teaching Outdoor Science School up in Felton, right above Santa Cruz, and it was really tricky due to the Redwood trees not allowing line of sight to the sky.

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  18. Is it actually the N95 GPS or just GPS in general. Every GPS receiver I’ve used requires you to be outside (I believe you need line of sight to the satellites to get a good signal) and have taken anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes to get a fix, depending on where I was. I use to use GPS while teaching Outdoor Science School up in Felton, right above Santa Cruz, and it was really tricky due to the Redwood trees not allowing line of sight to the sky.

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  19. Robert – Try installing Nokia SportsTracker. It seems to connect the quickest with GPS. The Maps app takes forever as does MGMaps (mentioned above as a replacement for Google Maps with GPS). Once you’ve got GPS running in SportsTracker you can then GEO-Tag your images with Shozu automagically as well.

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  20. Robert – Try installing Nokia SportsTracker. It seems to connect the quickest with GPS. The Maps app takes forever as does MGMaps (mentioned above as a replacement for Google Maps with GPS). Once you’ve got GPS running in SportsTracker you can then GEO-Tag your images with Shozu automagically as well.

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  21. “Can your camera phone make images like this one?”

    Yes. But who would want to? That’s a perfect example of why cell phone cameras suck.

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  22. “Can your camera phone make images like this one?”

    Yes. But who would want to? That’s a perfect example of why cell phone cameras suck.

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  23. Oh…I love my Nokia Sports Tracker. Combining with the music player, it is exactly what I need. If I had an arm band to carry the N95, that would be perfect.

    Another essential app is the internet browser. I am now so used to surfing while lying on my sofa with my N95 via WiFi.

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  24. Oh…I love my Nokia Sports Tracker. Combining with the music player, it is exactly what I need. If I had an arm band to carry the N95, that would be perfect.

    Another essential app is the internet browser. I am now so used to surfing while lying on my sofa with my N95 via WiFi.

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  29. Pingback: James O'Neill's blog : Mobile phone round-up

  30. Robert, I was the first to point out to you that GPS chipset in N95 is weak. Clearly you cannot blame GPS in general but only the GPS chipset used in N95 – several Windows Mobile phones for example use SiRF STAR III chipset that is super sensitive and is gettin fix very quickly and sometimes even you don’t have to go outdoors to get fix – being close to a window suffices.

    So don’t blame GPS as such but only a cheapo/poor implementation of GPS in N95!!!

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  31. Robert, I was the first to point out to you that GPS chipset in N95 is weak. Clearly you cannot blame GPS in general but only the GPS chipset used in N95 – several Windows Mobile phones for example use SiRF STAR III chipset that is super sensitive and is gettin fix very quickly and sometimes even you don’t have to go outdoors to get fix – being close to a window suffices.

    So don’t blame GPS as such but only a cheapo/poor implementation of GPS in N95!!!

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  32. Robert, a good tip to grab a quick GPS fix was detailed by Darla Mack at her mobile diva blog. There’s images etc over at her blog but you basically do the following

    Open maps > skip the zoom in > options > view > satellite info

    This will show you white bars if it has found a satellite but hasn’t yet fixed, and solid black bars if it has made a fix, with his open the device usually hurries itself along, I can get a fix within 30 seconds a lot of the time using this method, and if it is having trouble with getting one because of high buildings etc, you’ll be able to see straight out because the bars wont be turning black. Hope that helps.

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  33. Robert, a good tip to grab a quick GPS fix was detailed by Darla Mack at her mobile diva blog. There’s images etc over at her blog but you basically do the following

    Open maps > skip the zoom in > options > view > satellite info

    This will show you white bars if it has found a satellite but hasn’t yet fixed, and solid black bars if it has made a fix, with his open the device usually hurries itself along, I can get a fix within 30 seconds a lot of the time using this method, and if it is having trouble with getting one because of high buildings etc, you’ll be able to see straight out because the bars wont be turning black. Hope that helps.

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  35. It is far better than iPhone, for two reason
    a) Better international support, since Nokia is a well known player in most of the markets.
    b) Amount of widgets, or third party software available for Symbian S60 are more than what Apple have to offer.

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  36. It is far better than iPhone, for two reason
    a) Better international support, since Nokia is a well known player in most of the markets.
    b) Amount of widgets, or third party software available for Symbian S60 are more than what Apple have to offer.

    Like

  39. The GPS on my N95 generally locks within 30 seconds, from cold boot. I look at the ‘Satelite info’ and I agree with other posters that for some reason when youre looking at the bars it seems to lock quicker. But more importantly, if Ill be using it frequently that day, I start the ‘GPS data’ app (found under the tools menu), and leave it running in the background. (It consumes the least memory i.e. lower than nokia sports tracker, and lower than nokia maps.) Then, every time I open another GPS app, I have a instant lock!

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  40. The GPS on my N95 generally locks within 30 seconds, from cold boot. I look at the ‘Satelite info’ and I agree with other posters that for some reason when youre looking at the bars it seems to lock quicker. But more importantly, if Ill be using it frequently that day, I start the ‘GPS data’ app (found under the tools menu), and leave it running in the background. (It consumes the least memory i.e. lower than nokia sports tracker, and lower than nokia maps.) Then, every time I open another GPS app, I have a instant lock!

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  41. N95 is good, but not good enough. After a few hundred pics, there will be a delay of 4-5 seconds between when you press the button and the image is shot. Unacceptable. But since this only happens after a while and when you have taken some pics, clueless and naive journalists and bloggers overlook construction errors like these. I bet that the iPhone will be extremely snappy.

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  42. N95 is good, but not good enough. After a few hundred pics, there will be a delay of 4-5 seconds between when you press the button and the image is shot. Unacceptable. But since this only happens after a while and when you have taken some pics, clueless and naive journalists and bloggers overlook construction errors like these. I bet that the iPhone will be extremely snappy.

    Like

  45. Is there a GPS program for the N 95 with maps and directions that will work that does not have to be connected to the internet? If yes where and what?

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  46. Is there a GPS program for the N 95 with maps and directions that will work that does not have to be connected to the internet? If yes where and what?

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  47. Pingback: GPS Passion » Nokia N95 is getting GPS upgrade

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