Complete Newbie

[Guest dexterjack]

I have spent many hours deciding which new phone to get, and have gone for the Samsung Omnia. One of the most important features for me is to be able to use it as a portable SatNav, but have gotten really confused with what I'll actually be getting with the phone. Can someone explain it all in simple terms, just how to use it as SatNav, and do I get turn-by-turn or just maps, do I need to subscribe to soemthing, can I download something for this etc. You are all such wizards but I am a novice living in the UK. No doubt you will see me here often! Thanks

[Guest Neil5459]

The Samsung Omnia is a good WinMo device, there's no doubt, though one of it's weaknesses is a somewhat fickle GPS sysetm. Whether this is down to hardware or firmware is not yet clear. Suffice to say that in the end most users do get it to work OK B)

What you actually get is the hardware; a GPS receiver can download the very weak signals emitted from the set of satellites orbibiting the earth, and by comparing the signals from 3 or more visible satellites can compute your location in 3 dimensions to within a few metres. The Omnia also has a couple of software enhancement tweaks to improve the reception of these signals.

This information is than made available via a GPS COM port in the device. Geolocation software can then access this port to make use of the information in a way the user can understand. For turn by turn, spoken navigation you will need to either pay as you go, via data download, or pay upfront for software which resides on your device. Expect to pay £50 to £100 for local software such as CoPilot from ALK, or Navigator from TomTom. Be aware that TomTom do not currently support the Omnia, though there are workarounds. Another option is iGO8, though this is not currently available in UK, and has to run (legally at least) from its supplied memory card.

Data based services include Google Maps at the simplest, though there is no spoken direction. There are also a few data based services that do have spoken direction and traffic/speed camera updates, but they work out expensive unless you have a good data deal, and also risk losing your ability to navigate if you go out of range of a phone signal.

[Guest dexterjack]

The Samsung Omnia is a good WinMo device, there's no doubt, though one of it's weaknesses is a somewhat fickle GPS sysetm. Whether this is down to hardware or firmware is not yet clear. Suffice to say that in the end most users do get it to work OK B)

What you actually get is the hardware; a GPS receiver can download the very weak signals emitted from the set of satellites orbibiting the earth, and by comparing the signals from 3 or more visible satellites can compute your location in 3 dimensions to within a few metres. The Omnia also has a couple of software enhancement tweaks to improve the reception of these signals.

This information is than made available via a GPS COM port in the device. Geolocation software can then access this port to make use of the information in a way the user can understand. For turn by turn, spoken navigation you will need to either pay as you go, via data download, or pay upfront for software which resides on your device. Expect to pay £50 to £100 for local software such as CoPilot from ALK, or Navigator from TomTom. Be aware that TomTom do not currently support the Omnia, though there are workarounds. Another option is iGO8, though this is not currently available in UK, and has to run (legally at least) from its supplied memory card.

Data based services include Google Maps at the simplest, though there is no spoken direction. There are also a few data based services that do have spoken direction and traffic/speed camera updates, but they work out expensive unless you have a good data deal, and also risk losing your ability to navigate if you go out of range of a phone signal.

Thank you Neil. Omnia arrives tomorrow. I will have unlimited (!) internet on my package, and willing to use a lot for spoken/speed camera updates - which data based services are recommended ?

[Guest Neil5459]

As I don't use any downloaded SatNav I can't answer that B)

The one that looks OK is Telmap but this is apparently not yet compatible with the Omnia's odd screen size. It does cost £5 per month (plus £2.99 for traffic) or £50 per year, for which you could get TomTom, save data downloads, and avoid problems where there's no phone signal.