I recently bought a Nokia LD-W3 external bluetooth GPS unit that is working well when used with Nokia’s Sport Tracker application. It allows you to record your tracks that can later be overlaid onto Google Maps. It doesn’t however have a built in map so you can see where you are.
I wanted a mapping application so that I could navigate using the GPS unit. Nokia have an application for Series 60 phones called ‘Nokia Maps’. Even though the Nokia N80 is not listed as one of the compatible phones I’ve found out that if you just download the N73 version it will work fine on the N80.
Maps are retrieved from a server and stored on your phone. Nokia Maps works best (and won’t incur any call charges) if you download the maps that you need offline using the Nokia Map Loader application. The maps can be quite large, England is 114mb.
The Nokia Maps page says that you can connect your GPS receiver via bluetooth. Unfortunately it doesn’t tell you how to do it. The information is in the FAQ. The trick is to press ‘0’. Obviously. Once it is connected to the GPS ‘0’ will take you straight to your current location. As you move around you will see where you are on the map in real time as you would with a car GPS.
You can use Sport Tracker and Nokia Maps at the same time if you start Sport Tracker first and then Nokia Maps.
This is an essential download if you have a Series 60 phone and a GPS unit.
