GPS

So far so good. I’ve been in Manhattan for about two days now and it’s actually my first time here. I’ve been here when I was little, but I guess that doesn’t count.  Normally I’m accustomed to the tropical, lazy Caribbean days, so spending a few days in Manhattan is definitely a change on my daily routine and should be the perfect setting to put the N82 through its paces. It’s one thing to use such a feature packed device in well-known surroundings, but it’s a totally different story when rushing from busy airports to crowded streets with luggage and all. When I first heard about the Urbanista Diaries I knew this would be the ultimate real world vacation test for the latest Nseries device, the N82: No reading of manuals, no time to ask questions in mobile forums, no tech support, the thing just needs to work and perform the tasks quick enough, otherwise, well I would probably get lost and would have to use my last resort: ask for directions . Armed with the N82, the Nokia SU-8W Bluetooth keyboard and the Nokia BH-803 I headed off to New York. One of the features I used the most was probably the Nokia Maps with the built-in GPS. Before I got here I thought: It’s the US right and hey it’s GPS so no problem getting a signal right? Well, for the most part that was the case. You see, to get a good strong signal, GPS receivers have to have a good, mostly unobstructed access to the skies above and that’s where the problems could start. Honestly the N82 proved to be a lot more sensitive when it comes to GPS signals than what I originally thought and was quickly able to get signals even in buildings, moving cars and airplanes. I guess Nokia learned their lesson here by placing the receiver on the top part of the handset instead on of the lower part underneath the keyboard like on the N95 8GB, N95 classic and US N95. In the places I managed to get a GPS signal with the N82, I’m pretty sure that would not have been the case with the N95.

The experience wasn’t 100% perfect though as some areas of Manhattan where there were there a lot of tall buildings the N82 it just would not get a signal. When choosing a GPS receiver the Nokia guys have to choose, amongst many things a balance between sensitivity, size and power usage. I’ve had the GPS on for 95% of the entire day and in my opinion I think it handled battery usage pretty well, although you’ll probably need an extra battery. Having a constant data connection isn’t helping here either. I feel that in some scenarios (like in the heart of Manhattan) that a GPS with a little more sensitivity is needed. The built-in GPS receiver in the N82 is by no means inadequate, especially not for its size, but getting a signal in these difficult areas would be ideal. Maybe Nokia could use a more powerful GPS unit that would surely be a big no no for the battery, but maybe they could put in the option that would allow you to throttle down the GPS to normal settings or increase the sensitivity (and the toll on the battery) for those cases where it’s really needed, like Manhattan. One setting I kind of forgot to change and I would recommend everyone taking a look at before heading out on trips is choosing the transport mode. I accidentally left the settings at “By car” instead of “On foot” which turned out to make a big difference. Obviously there are places that a car can’t go and a pedestrian can which leads to the system routing a car to areas where the route is longer. Not really the system’s fault, but maybe they should consider adding the option where the Nokia Maps would ask you if you would like to use it in car or pedestrian mode. This actually makes sense once you think about as tourist sometimes like to take long walks and explore the city, while sometimes they just want to travel longer distances and take a rental car. During this trip the GPS proved a life saver helping me find a local Best Buy where I wanted to do a little shopping, but also helping me find one of my favorite foods: Pizza. All I did was search for the word Pizza and it directed me to the nearest place. There was a time when I actually wandered several kilometers from my hotel and couldn’t find my way back and because some of these hotels were so small they didn’t appear at all on the map. This in some ways understandable as Nokia is constantly updating the info on the Nokia Maps. Luckily I made it a habit to mark the coordinates of my hotels or places that I liked as “Landmarks”, this way I can return to the location even if the place doesn’t appear on the Nokia Maps. I also think that Nokia could somehow collect info from the places people bookmark (of course protecting their privacy) and then see if any of these landmarked locations are hotels or landmarks worth adding to the Nokia Maps.  Another funny and somewhat strange use I found for the GPS was checking how effective these cab drivers were at  taking me to my destination using the shortest routes as possible. I’ve heard stories from family and friends where the cab drivers took a longer-than- usual-route to charge a little more. So one time I decided before getting into one of these taxis I would let the N82 calculate a route based on where I needed to go and than see how this would compare to the route the taxi driver was taking me. And yes his route was perfect in accordance with the Nokia Maps . Speaking of taxis, I see a lot of potential here. Can you imagine the usefulness of combining the SportsTracker app with the GPS systems of these cabs? These Taxis have a built-in GPS system, just like the N82, why not combine the two and put them to good use? Wouldn’t it be cool if Nokia would release a “Transport application” where you could indicate to these taxis that you needed a ride and nearby taxis would see potential customers as green dots on radar? This way they could stay in a general area and see exactly who needs a cab. This app could also show updated subway and other transportations like what bus or train to take to reach a general area. I see this as natural area where the Nokia Maps need to develop into. The reason why I’m asking for this is because it wouldn’t have been cool to try out the railway system but I had no idea where this would take. Another feature I liked was that as you walked around the city, it showed places of interests like museums, restaurants and monuments amongst other things.

Form Factor

One thing that had a dramatic effect on the way I used the N82 was the form factor. For this reason I would like to share my experience on the subject. Personally I have a thing for slider, there’s something cool about being able to slide the phone up to reveal the keyboard. The N82 in this case is purely a candy bar device and as I see it, candy bars aren’t as cool or as fun, but while traveling this could actually be a good thing.  Let me try to explain why. When I’m in some strange and unknown country the last thing I would want is a phone that attracts a lot of attention and this is something that the N95 8GB does exactly the opposite. Sure, back home when I’m with friends and family it would be nice to have a device that gets all the attention, but while walking down an unknown street that’s the last thing I would want. Despite its shiny front, the N82 looks quite unassuming amongst QWERTY keyboard based smartphones I’ve seen in New York.  From the devices I’ve seen people use in Manhattan, it seems as if 99% of them had a wide short body, large screen and QWERTY keyboard, not very pocktable I must say. As a tourist you would want a thin device that fits comfortably and is operated comfortably with one hand as you hold you’re can of soda, a slice of pizza or maybe even your carry-on luggage as you find your way to your next destination. Ever noticed that as a tourist your hands are never free? With its relatively narrow shape it could easily slip into my jeans and just as easily be operated with one hand. Can’t say the same about other wider and larger smartphones, even the beloved N95 8GB. Now one thing I didn’t like was that the two key clusters that consists of the two soft keys, C-key and menu key were very difficult to operate with or without gloves! With my gloves on, I don’t know how many times I had accidentally hit the Multimedia key. Strangely, the numeric keys were quite easy to operate. You’re going to win any speed test with gloves on while typing, but I was shocked that the entire tying went flawless.

I will keep you guys up-to-date with my experiences. I’m off to see the White House as I’m now in Washington!