Ovi Maps on Nokia 5800 - Can't Find Anything

Review for Ovi Maps Beta for mobile (v3.03)

20-12-2009 20:12

The 'search' feature on Ovi Maps leaves much to be desired. It can't find the vast majority of the things i attempt to search for. Searches like 'Wharton Center' (a major performance hall here in East Lasning, Michigan) and 'City Hall' return zero results. intersection searchs (Fifth and Amberdone, for example) return no results. It is ridiculously intolerant of mispellings (MacGonagel is not found, McGonaagel is... sometimes). Most of the time I need to leave Ovi Maps, do a search in Google Maps (exact same search), find the location then 'mark as favorite' then go back to Ovi Maps and select the location that Google found from the device favorites list. I was really hoping that this inability to find things (even exact address are 'not found' regularly) would be fixed in the Ovi version. Already canceled my subscription. Can't wait until Google Navigation is Symbian-ready.

Still love my Nokia 5800 though and looking forward to the next Maps release :) Hopefully with 'Google-ish' search!

Keep up the good work!

Comments

Submitted by saudiqbal on 20-12-2009 23:09.

Thats true I have problems finding addresses too. Even then the route it calculates is really bad, you dont want to navigate using the directions it gives. Nokia is not doing anything to improve navigation, just wait 5 years maybe by that time we will get something better. This is why I use my Tomtom to go places, I use Nokia for emergency purposes only cuz I dont keep my tomtom in my car always dut to theft problems.

Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition,
Tomtom Go720,
Ohio, USA.

Submitted by Anonymous30740 on 21-12-2009 04:34.

Yeah when Google Nav is released for Symbian, that will pretty much be the end of Nokia Maps. Sure they'll still claim that "you need an internet connection for google maps but not for nokia maps", but in reality nokia's built-in POI database is so utterly useless that you HAVE to search their extended POI database to find anything, which of course requires an internet connection.

I wonder if the Mayan prophecy of 2012 was actually talking about Nokia Maps... :)

Submitted by mbrett on 21-12-2009 10:24.

Nokia POIs Database is very poor. I can not disagree with this at all. You do need to go online to check their online POIs. However:

Google maps needs to be permanently on line and not just for searching which of course you ned to be online for with Google, but google needs to download all of the map data too. This means that when you are travelling you can loose navigation as you have lost maps when you loose mobile reception. This is not the case with OVI Maps.

I class OVI Maps as trying to compete with the likes of Garmin for S60 and Tom Tom for S60 and not Google and alike.

mbrett
N97 RM-505 (Product Code: 0585262 (Vodafone UK)) FW 20.0.019
N95 8Gb (Product Code: 0558787 (UK)) FW 31.0.015
http:///www.twitter.com/MartynBrett
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Submitted by Anonymous30740 on 24-12-2009 11:34.

You are right mbrett, for google maps you need to be online constantly. However, I personally believe this is only for now. The only reason we can't download the maps used by google onto memory cards is because the original license owners won't allow Google to do so. To rectify this situation, google has been working hard at procuring their own map data. When this data is complete, then google can create downloadable maps just like Nokia has.

Yes this is currently speculation on my part, but look at what google is currently doing: they're entering the turn-by-turn navigation market. And you KNOW that google isn't a company content with what they have; they're constantly venturing into new territories. And once they develop the ability (both technically and legally) to allow downloadable maps ... well on that day, I wish Nokia Maps good luck. And personally, I feel that day will come a LOT sooner than 2015, which is Nokia's projected milestone year.

Ravi