WOM World / Nokia - Services

Mapsters take over another house

TomH — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:20:30 +0000

In their quest to take over the world (or maybe just help guide users round Nokia Maps on various devices), the Mapsters have found another victim.

Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog has found his printer has been taken over by a large Mapsters sticker, and one of the blighters has stuck itself to his fridge. Apart from the noise from the website – Mark advises hitting mute - Mapsters has made people aware of Nokia Maps and has made Mark aware of the new update of the service. The fact that he had to find out on the site - instead of being told when he starts the app – has miffed him a bit, but he’s happy with the update.

Have you been bitten by a Mapster yet? What would you like them to teach you about Nokia Maps? Head over and let Mark know…he can tell the one stuck to his fridge.

N-Gage will take time to bed in

TomH — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:23:37 +0000

On the All About N-Gage pages, Ewan Spence has posted an editorial about the relative merits of N-Gage platforms past and present.

He says that it would be wrong for people to question the current state of N-Gage games (as suggested by a colleague), as there is always a period of bedding in before developers fully get to grips with the capabilities of a new platform. He cites the ‘bundle of average’ launch titles when the PSP hit the streets, and says that the best stuff usually take between 12 and 18 months to filter through. For that reason, it was worth putting up with N-Gage games like Puzzle Bobble on the Classic platform, because you knew eventually there’d be superb titles like Pocket Kingdom. And the chap behind that game, Scott Foe, is about to unleash his new progeny Reset Generation on the new N-Gage users. Patience, it’s all about patience.

Do you agree with Ewan? Do you think that a lag is acceptable before decent games show up on a platform? Jump over and let him know.

If that hasn’t whetted your appetite for N-Gage, you might to see if you can find Anssi. Where is Anssi? Keep your eyes peeled, your mind sharp and your mouse handy and you might just find out

T9nav for S60 in review, plus Shozu embraces Ovi

RobbieD — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:10:18 +0000

Zach on Symbian in Motion is a big fan of SkyeQuiKey, the app for controlling and launching a number of items by typing direct from your Active Standby screen. He has however happened upon a competitor in this arena in the form of T9nav.

Zach pitches T9nav against the benchmarks set by SkyeQuiKey and while it does the job, it doesn’t live up to his expectations. Jump over for Zach’s full review.

In other application news, Mobile Diva Darla Mack has brought the news that Share on Ovi has now been integrated into Shozu (along with 8 other services, bringing the total to 46!). Jump over for the full article.

Where does N-Gage go from here?

RichardG — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:23:41 +0000

When Maps 2.0 was launched it was a much improved product compared to the first incarnation. This is a point noted by Tzer2 over on All About N-Gage and inspires an article on exactly where the second release of N-Gage can improve.

Covering everything from introducing a horizontal mode for the N-Gage client to a reliable back-up and restore method to ensure saved games are never lost, it’s an in-depth list. The ten point covered also look at a way to transfer games between devices (a sore point for many gamers at current) and that old favorite, a general increase in speed.

What are your thoughts? Jump over for the full article.

New version of Map Loader available

RobbieD — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:34:23 +0000

A new verison of Nokia Map Loader is now available and Dotsisx at Symbian Guru has covered the news.

The latest update (now available from Beta labs) brings various upates, the most interesting of which is the ability to purchase guides and navigation from within the app rather than from your device. Dotsisx thinks the added functionality is good, but is wary of the various hoops one needs to jump through to get the new version installed.

Jump over to read more and leave your comments.

A week in the life of N-Gage…

TomH — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:21:22 +0000

Over at All About Symbian Tzer2 has been keeping up to date with all that is going on in the world of N-Gage. If you want to catch up too, there’s a particularly useful post covering the last week of developments…

Featuring no less than six links to useful news surrounding the N-Gage platform, you can keep up to date with new trailers for upcoming games as well as a look at the pros and cons of touchscreen gaming - is it for N-Gage?

Jump over to find all the links and satiate your N-gage thirst for another week!

Widsets and Ovi Share get a Summer wardrobe

TomH — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:43:39 +0000

A couple of interesting updates for those in the Nokia world come in the form of a Widsets upgrade and enhancements for Share on Ovi.

Pseudofinn on Nokia Users has looked at the update to Widsets which he says will bring a big change to the My Profile widget increasing the feature set in sharing your favorite widsets (amongst other info) with others. He also includes a run down of other more minor updates.

Meanwhile, Vaibhav Sharma on The Symbian Blog brings news of support for the PicLens plug-in for Share on Ovi - a very nifty solution for full screen browsing. Alongside this, Vaibhav brings word of a new ‘extra large’ image size plus his own ideas for what updates should be implemented in the future.

What do you think of these updates? Anything there that piques your interest? Jump through the links above to leave a comment.

Get a Speedier GPS lock on your Nokia

RobbieD — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:01:31 +0000

Steve Litchfield writing on All About Symbian has provided a nice run-down of tips on improving the GPS lock time on your device.

From the basics like ensuring you know where the antenna is on your device, to being realistic about how long a lock might take given your surroundings, there’s enough there to help you get more out of GPS. To go with these tips Steve also provides a run through of how to get the most out of Nokia Maps 2.0 which should get you on the right path…

There’s also a lot of chat in the comments section over in the AAS forum, with plenty more ideas and questions. Jump over to join the discussion.

Nokia Maps 2.0 – brings Tokyo closer to home

TomH — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:51:29 +0000

Andrew Currie has posted on his blog about his attempts to use Nokia Maps to find his favourite street in Tokyo.

He begins by reminding us that he thought the ‘killer’ feature of version 1.0 was the ability to store local information on your device. He goes on to compare the service of v1.0 with v2.0, showing N95 8GB screenshots of the street with no local info (v1.0) and the ‘handy’ new satellite image of the same intersection (v2.0). The difference is clear to see, and now the world travellers amongst us can get decent information about our environs. Indeed, he goes as far as to say Nokia Maps 2.0 is one of his ‘favourite’ S60 apps, he just wishes it was released for his E61i.

What is your favorite feature of Nokia Maps 2.0? Anything that Andrew could help you with? Leave him a comment by heading over to his blog.

N-Gage games – gameplay vs. graphics

RichardG — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:34:56 +0000

Teo from Symbian Freak has opened the age-old debate that haunts many a gamer’s darkest hours – which is more important, graphics or gameplay?

That he writes from the perspective of an N-Gage user is handy for those of us keen to establish how the Nokia platform’s games hold up to some serious testing. He thinks that some people will focus purely on the graphics, and that will be a ‘major influence on their purchase’. On the other hand, there are games like Space Invaders with phenomenal gameplay but under-par graphics. He reckons Nokia should release a device with dedicated gaming hardware as opposed to ‘dedicated gaming keys’ like on the N81. Then N-Gage could release games that blew everyone away with both their graphics and gameplay.

But what do you think? There is of course, the usual SF link to the forum where the debate rages on, so jump in and voice your opinion.