There have been a lot of rants and raves about the navigation experience on N900 via the default Ovi Maps for the Maemo platform. One constant nagging issue has been the absence of offline maps, a feature which has been the USP of Ovi maps on symbian platform, so much as to push it to the top spot in the favoured navigation device in Europe.
However, the very feature which catapulted Ovi Maps to the top position has been missing from the maemo version of the application on N900. But all that is history, as Nokia have now updated the Ovi Maps loader with support for Maemo version of Ovi Maps, meaning you can now download and save maps on your N900 and be able to use the app in absence of data connection. Catch more details on this after the break
Screengrab showing N900 support on Ovi Maps-
The latest version of Map loader supporting the N900 can be downloaded for free from Nokia USA website. The 27 MB file is no less than a messaiah for N900 fans, who have had an aweful lot to complain about the GPS services on this platform. While the support for offline maps is a great addition, it has to be noted that the Maemo version of the app still doesn’t support voice guidance and hence may still not appeal to users of symbian devices. But, the app is rapidly evolving and voice guidance may be added in the near future.
It’s still the same old version and still no support for Nokia N900!
@Majestic12: Did u download the latest version of map loader? Majority of N900, including me users have been able to do load maps using the latest version of map loader.
i too am not able to update… it is not recognising my phone….
So this ads map for those region that didn’t came preloaded and that’s it?
@Alex: Yeah you can add maps from other regions and most important of all you can use Ovi Maps offline
@mehul: it should be working by now.
i paid $600 for n900 and can’t use offline map???
hi!, good web page, really handy, but im i cant update my N900…. i guess it’s not able for my code numer… or something, kinda sucks…i was able to install the pc suite, and it works fine, but when i wanna put update… no good.
Hi,
Well, finally got the Ovi maps installed – still stays v1.01 on the phone though. It sort of works offline (when not connected to the internet) but it often asks for a connection and I keep having to click to cancel that request. It seems the satellite pictures can only be obtained when online, though it does seem to cache them.
Are we *sure* this is GPS in offline mode working fully? It doesn’t even tell me my speed (in mph or km/h) so if it is working, it’s very basic. It’s pretty slow and pretty awful as far as GPS units go I must say. Needs much improvment, including the ability to view in portrait mode.
How’s anyone else finding it?
OK, so GPS maps displaying is better now and does work offline.
I find that if I use the WiFiSwitcher widget to disable WLAN when I am out and about, then I don’t keep getting prompted to join a wlan whenever one comes in range.
The GPS works fine offline, but seems a little slow. It sometimes gets confused about the direction I am going in when walking, i.e. the compass is not always spot on. Perhaps again due to the slow processing issue? Can the code be optimised to make it faster?
Features
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It would be nice when walking to be able to have the GPS map displayed in PORTRAIT mode, but I can’t get it to do that yet. Can we have this feature soon?
Finally, just waiting for the extra bells and whistles like voice turn by turn instructions and showing me the speed I am travelling etc
Can anyone tell me how to make Ovi maps work offline then? Mine continually wanted to connect to the internet again today whilst out and wouldn’t tell me my position accurately.
Seems very temperamental to me.
Important update!
How to get maps working in offline mode and not ask you for an internet connection.
I’ve just worked out that pressing the red dot icon button switches the GPS map mode from (1) satellite GPS mode to (2) mobile phone triangulation/internet database positioning mode.
(1) With GPS mode, you get a red dot on the screen showing your position accurately and this works offline of course as you don’t need an internet connection.
(2) With mobile phone mode you get 4 black corner brackets giving a less accurate position marker, and this needs an internet connection of course so it keeps trying to connect to the internet.
So, the solution is to press the red icon button to make sure you are in the red icon satellite mode when offline. (This icon button toggles between the two modes.)
Finally, I wish we had portrait mode for the maps when walking. It would be much more comfortable to use portrait mode when walking along and holding the N900 in your hand.
HTH
Check this link it works :
http://lloydjr.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/fixing-nokias-map-loader-for-the-n900/
I wrote the fix that Farzad mentions above. As PR 1.2 was released for the N900 today, the 26th, I identified a follow-up fix as the previous fix will stop working after you upgrade to the new firmware. The fix can be found at http://wp.me/pOhA7-fn