Nokia Maps vs OSX

Nokia, bless them, have only released the Map Loader for WinXp / Vista. Which is a pity if you don't have / want to use those systems.

You would think it wouldn't be too hard to write a little java app that works cross platform like on OSX. They must have enough customers using OSX. I mean its not as though they invested any effort / money in the GUI, is it? And they wrote a photo downloader for N series to iPhoto workflow.

Well anyway, I don't use those systems (by choice) but if I want to download the maps in advance of a trip, then I guess I have to sigh.

The current versions of PC Suite (7.0) and Map Loader (2.0) in theory can transfer the maps by bluetooth.

In practice I never got this working... so I used the USB cable.

Oh yes, and another thing... why does Map Loader not allow you to selectively delete the cached maps on your device? I have a 2Gb card in the N73, a substantial amount of which is used for cached maps. Do they really want me downloading another 2Gb from their server? Bandwidth is that cheap for them?

If you are wondering why I want to cache the maps, well when you are places with no signal eg Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree, Yosemite etc...

Nokia N73 and Google Maps Mobile gets Cell and GPS support

Discovered from here that there is a new version of Google Maps Mobile for the Nokia S60 series of phones in SIS form ie native application instead of the previous Java J2ME.

The new version also has Bluetooth GPS support. Magic!

On your phone, go to www.google.com/gmm and follow the instructions.

Pressing '0' or selecting options>mylocation will use the data from which Cell you're in, and calculate your position. You can switch the display between map and satellite view. Its surprisingly accurate.

Pressing '2' switches between map and satellite view.

To turn on GPS support you have to switch to it. Options>Tools>Use GPS.

Apple Mac OSX Leopard 10.5 Vodafone 3G Bluetooth Nokia N73

Apple Mac OSX Leopard 10.5 has some new wizard items for connecting to the internet using your bluetooth phone.

My N73 is already a great companion to my Nokia N800.

From the bluetooth menu (if bluetooth is not in the menu, go to System Preferences, click bluetooth and select 'show bluetooth status in the menu bar') select 'setup bluetooth device' and then select 'mobile phone'.

Originally with 10.4 on my Powerbook I had to manually select a modem script. This is not required with 10.5. The wizard selected Nokia phone for me.

When you get to the bit that asks about name and password and apn, enter:

apn: internet
username: web
password: web

Nokia N800 - Cannot browse from Apple Mac OSX via Bluetooth

Even after you pair your Nokia N800 and your Mac by bluetooth, you cannot browse the N800 from your Mac. You can, however, send files by Bluetooth.

When you send a file OSX---> N800 you'll get a warning

"File type not accepted. The target device claims it will not accept a file of the type you are trying to send".

It is safe to click "send anyway".

Apple Mac OSX with Bluetooth iGo Traveller Stowaway

Since the iGo Bluetooth keyboard is HID compliant, you can also use it with a Mac with OSX.

The process is quite straight forward. Start the discover process, and follow the instructions.

If it asks what kind of keyboard it is, if you take the instructions on finding the keys literally it will not complete the process.

Instead press the 'z' key and then instead of the '?' without a modifier, press 'shift + ?'.

The wizard asks what kind of keyboard it is, I selected 'ANSI (United States and Others)' and the wizard completed OK.

The keyboard works fine. The 'alt' key works exactly like a regular keyboard; the 'cmd' key is the 'apple' key. You even get a proper 'delete' key for forward delete.

Great!

Nokia N800 and iGo Traveller Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard

I got my Nokia N800 the other day, and also purchased the iGo Stowaway bluetooth keyboard on Ebay. Their web site doesn't mention N800 compatibility, but enough resources suggested that both the iGo and the N800 are HID compliant that it was worth a go.

After unpacking and putting the batteries in, the next step was to pair the 2.

First you go into the control panel on the N800, and with 2007 firmware (2008 is different), select 'Hardware Keyboard'. Make sure 'Generic 105-key PC' and 'English USA' are selected. If you try to select a different keyboard layout (I tried initially tried English (United Kingdom)) when you pair you will get a 'pairing failed, device resources exceeded' message.

Then go to the Bluetooth panel of your N800 and search for new devices.

Make the keyboard is discoverable by pressing 'CTRL and BOTH Fn' Keys until the green LED flashes.

It finds the Stowaway keyboard, offers to pair and gives you a code. Click OK on the N800, and then on the keyboard, hold down Left FN + number keys to type in the code. Press Left FN + Enter.

The N800 is now paired.

The very nice thing about having a bluetooth keyboard is that when you want to enter text on the N800 it doesn't use 1/3 of the screen as a soft keyboard.

Update: You can also use the iGo with a bluetooth enabled Apple Mac. Instructions from my Macbook Pro here