Since last Tuesday's Maps 3.0 beta launch, which attracted a massive amount of interest and enthusiasm, three things have happened here at Beta Labs as we expected:
Beta Labs traffic has more than doubled
We have received an unprecedented inflow of feedback
Feedback has been divided into too camps: (1) constructive/thoughtful and (2) complaining/noisy
Before going further, I want to apologize on my own behalf for those of you who have experienced issues. Naturally, we'll keep releasing improved versions during the coming weeks, and as a short-term relief, we also wrote short instructions to Maps 3.0 beta page in case you want to revert back to Maps 2.0. In any case, please keep sharing your thoughts, bug reports, and improvement suggestions - let me assure that the Maps team is working day and night to improve the app, taking your feedback into account. Let's try to keep the conversation constructive!
In any case, since some of you raised this question, let's have a quick gallup:
The key benefit of releasing early is to have better opportunities to do improvements based on the feedback - but it has the risk of alienating some users who face issues while not being prepared for it. It's a tricky balance. I want to believe that this is mostly a communications issue: that by marking clearly what is the compatibility, the expected quality level, and the risks involved, we could keep releasing early beta releases here at Beta Labs for your comments. But ultimately, I think you (= the user community) should decide about this. So what do you say?
I think given the hype over the N97 it might have been good to announce Maps 3.0 but not release the beta the same day. That said, that's PR, rather than technical. From a Beta perspective, I'd say keep them coming, as long as there are instructions on how to remove the beta. I think a lot of the issues people had at first were with being unable to reinstall Maps 2.0 until someone posted the advice above.
after update my N96 to latest firmware 12.043 I noticed in the caculator app. the decimal points has become a " □ " square which i find very annoying. I'm eagerly waiting for you guys to say go ahead the N96 compatibility issue with maps 3.0 beta has been settled.
Nokia Maps is core part of modern Nokia phones.
Do not play with fire :) I've tested major of Beta Labs apps.
Nokia 3.0 is errmmm...little less mature than other Betas.
Too much open questions raising, without answers.
Well, I managed to navigate with this Beta though.
I'd vote for 'earlier' any day - but then again, I read the system requirements, compatibility list, and known issues *before* I decide if I give it a try.
Requiring an account login might be worth a try, but since it would probably be for free I'm adraid it would not stop the professional complainers...
To conclude, we should:
- keep releasing early
- mark quality level and "what is beta" more clearly (as people don't read small print)
- avoid mainstream marketing and overpromises for early beta releases
hi thanks for letting us, use the labs apps, sadly maps 3 does not work with the n85 yet, i'd like to go back to maps2 but their is no where i find instruction to d this process, could you please give me the link ...thanks and GREAT job
The increased traffic and noise level could be both attributed to the way Nokia Maps 3 was announced. It came the same time (same source) as the N97 announcement - so many people hurried to pick it up, who got excited over Nokia's new flagship.
One time visitors will surely miss the classification of the betas, so it might be good to repeat it in the Download section (that's what I search for first, reading can come later ;-). And you could change the "bug" description to "Alpha release" or "Limited functionality, many problems".
I have voted for "keep it coming" as I would like to participate as early as possible ;-)
(If the earlier "Nokia account login" topic gets implemented, then alpha releases could be announced to registered users only - solving the communication problem.)
> If the earlier “Nokia account login” topic gets implemented,
> then alpha releases could be announced to registered users
> only - solving the communication problem.
...unless the same thing gets announced in press releases and major events simultaneously :)
Wow :O second vote! Um, anyways, I think the point of beta releases is that those who CHOOSE (choose, no one forces anyone to use them!) to use them, can see the bugs and give feedback to the developers so they can address the problems. That you get the newest inventions the earliest, is only an added perk, it ain't the primary focus of beta software. So, whoever feels "alienated" should re-think their viewpoint: complaining about something you yourself opted for with having the knowledge that it is very possibly faulty, is just plain wrong imo.
I voted for "keep it coming" because I don't mind the faults and flaws of an early beta, but in this particular case a little bit wider compatibility would have been nice;)
HI Tommi. I haven't been much of a help but I have to say that I think you're right. People shouldn't look at Beta apps (and specially Beta labs applications) as a way to get something new early. A beta should be something still with gaps and errors. The sooner one can test it, the easier it will be to add changes, repair bugs or change the way we interact with the application. Early betas may make some people jump off, but they're intended to the ones that really want to test something and help "creating" through feedback.
thanks but it's weird each time i want instal MAPS2 or 3 it tells me can not instal because some apps ar running please clos then down, but i have no apps running??? knowing that i have the latest version of the firmware 1.17 i think. anyway it installs it says insatl complete. then whan i run it says again please instal latest version of maps ( and i check everywhere even did You could check, whether you’ve got another diskcache on MMC so in general e:\private\20001f63\diskcache and also erased the city folder ans the rest)
well i guees i'll just have to wait for a more stable version of maps
I don't mind "before mature stage" beta software, but i would atleast expect it to install properly on my phone. For me, installing properly and not disrupting the phone is the minimum requirement for any beta release. If this much is achieved, i dont mind the software not working the way it is expected to.
But do keep releasing the softwares as soon as possible.
One important difference between the Maps application, and many other applications that have featured in Beta Labs, is that Maps is a "core" app that people may have come to rely on. I certainly use my N95 and Maps 2 a lot to find my way about and would miss it greatly. It is my only Satnav facility, and to be without it would be like being without the ability to make phone calls or send texts.
Putting aside the fact that mine is an FP1 device, if/when there is a MAPS 3 version I can test, to do so I will have to overwrite MAPS 2, and so if at that stage Maps 3 is still fairly unstable, I'd be without a usable Satnav.
If Maps 3 could be tested without losing the ability to use Maps 2, then I think there would be much less potential pressure on the day-1 quality of Maps 3.
That's the issue here, I would suggest. If Maps 3 is all we have to get around with, for those of us who rely on Maps most (and therefore make good beta testers), it needs to be of a reasonable standard before we can start testing it.
On the other hand, if Maps 3 beta could be made capable of running alongside Maps 2 on the same device, that would solve the problem.
Either way, my view is that we should not generalise too much from Maps betas to other Nokia beta testing - because of this important difference - Maps has become a core application (which is a great credit to MAPS developers and to the inventors of the GPS-enabled phone concept).
Hi,
I don't mind beta versions having some bugs, those are "the essential part" of beta's and I really like Beta Labs. This being said I need to express some feedback:
Few things got my attention in Maps 3.0 (http://maps.ovi.com/services/integrated). First it was said that it works in S60 3rd edition FP2 and there was a screenshot of N96. I almost installed it, mostly because of these 2 things. Luckily I was little cautious and read some "small print" and noticed that it doesn't work yet in N96.
So, my suggestion is that keep publishing apps to Beta Labs but be little more precise about the pictures (screenshots of devices) being used, because people don't read texts, they look at pictures.
Nokia Maps v2.0.4503 S60v3 SymbianOS9.1 Unsigned Cracked-illusion
now i have purchased navigation for my N95 8GB then found that cracked version posted on this forum http://www.ipmart-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=374
what next?wait for the cracked Nokia Maps 3 and ask for my money back??
why don't you guys take some actions against this forum??
@Tommi #6: true, true. If it gets announced like Maps (or Nokia viNe or ...) via marketing, then there is nothing you can do.
Maybe one thing. Explain in Nokia the magic of the words: "immediate availability" :-) If a product gets announced (true not just for software, but devices like the N97), it has to come (<2 months) or has to be, in final form.
@geoffg #24: I very much agree, Maps is one of the popular apps (downloaded 6 million times), so the user base for a beta is enormous.
I've just updated my N96 to v12.043 (OTA -- see blog) .... is it known whether maps works ok on this fw level?
A thought for the future -- would it be possible to install maps with an alternate package name so that v2 and v3 could co-exist.
This is what opera tend to do with opera mini & it works well -- can use the new beta version most of the time, but have a good fallback in case of difficulty.
The thing that really annoys me is that Maps 3.0 was being demo'd on a Nokia N95 8GB at the event, both in the dinner I attended, and on the show floor. This is incredibly misleading, given that it's only available to us for Feature Pack 2 devices.
Also, if you're going to say, 'Feature Pack 2 devices', then it needs to be just that - ALL Feature Pack 2 devices.
I've noticed lately that things being released through the beta labs are being released earlier and earlier, as evidenced by the fact that it's less and less about being available for entire groups of devices, and more about being available for specific devices (Share Online v4.0, for example).
I realize the whole point of Beta Labs is to let us test things, so I don't mind bugs and whatnot, but it's really frustrating that I have to read the fine print just to figure out if my device is included in the special list of FP2 devices.
I agree that the major announcement really threw a kink in the Maps v3.0 beta release. Nokia should *definitely* be more careful about publicly announcing something so clearly in alpha.
The Google policy of leaving things tagged as "beta" for years after a successful mainstream product launch (e.g Google video is still in "beta" three years post launch) has coloured peoples expectations of what to expect from a beta product.
You need to clearly tell people in big red letters that cannot be ignored if a product is a test version which may not work or could even damage their phone. Maybe also insist on users correctly answering a few questions about the test nature of the software to prove they've understood the warnings before giving them a download link.
In order not to see the decimal place as a square, I am now using another beta product Nokia Enhanced Calculator. However, the File Manager screen still shows the decimal point as a square. Developer of Maps 3.0 Beta please advise how to change the "□" back to "." since it became like this after I tried the maps 3.0 beta and it failed to work on my N78 (System Error when run after installation completed successfully).
I managed to restore the decimal point from the square after doing a hard reset - Hold down *, 3 and multimedia key for my N78 and switch on the phone. However, after I restore all previous setting from memory card, the square came back again. Please can someone tell me where is this decimal/square setting located.
1) Delete the ‘cities’ folder and the ‘qf’ file on the memory card with File Manager
2) Reinstall Maps 2.0 from maps.nokia.com
3) Start Maps 2.0 once
4) Use Map Loader 2 from maps.nokia.com to download the map data you need
Hey guys, any solution found to restore the decimal point from the irritating square symbol so far? Restore to factory default and upgrade of firmware didn't help at all. (My N78 upgraded from V12.046 to V13.052 and the square still there).
thankd Tommy, after reinstaling maps2 i tried to open it and at 30% percebt it's telling me imposible to open apps please download the latest version of nokia maps from nokia.com/maps
i tred and it still does the same thing????
Since "Beta" became a "modern" thing over the web, people may be misunderstanding it´s meaning.
BETA is development, is possible problems. No one can complain about a problem, if he decided to install a beta.
Keep them coming!
I don't think that the software, or the bugs are the problem.
I think the "maps problem" is more the fact of the announcement.
Because you have announce the software not only to the regular betalabs user, which most of know what beta software ist, but to the normal not tech user too.
Bescause of the spezial Annoncment chip.de and other big computer mazines, republished the news and got new user to beta labs.
Sucessfully installed in my N85 with the Software version 10.045 and the GPS icon changed to a Compass, however I was told 'System Error ' while going to operate the GPS.
As said in the other comments, I think a better - a more precise - description of the level of development will be useful. So you'll avoid confusing the users and non-constructive posts.
Please think about the following:
1. Label of development. It describes how far the dev is. Let's guess 3 different types:
a) just matured from alpha-state, basic functionality, works only on the named devices, operating systems or web browsers.
b) advanced state, works on most of targeted S60 devices, other operating systems (like Linux or Mac) or browers (Firefox, Safari, ...) than Windows and IE are supported in basic functions.
c) Works on every S60 device, operating system or browser. In some cases, depending on used hard- or software, there will be still some errors. this is the last level, the state of development is so far that this software will be a graduate at any time..
As Eismaus said, the big announcements causes the trouble, so avoid this in the future, it is still BETA.
Something new, but nothing that big.
Interested users will provide their (constructive) feedback, but they will not tolerate false promises.
i agree to to release betas early but if you want to release then release for all not only fp2,i been waiting for fp1 for more than 20 days now,this is not fare :(
The site is called Nokia Beta Labs and the app came with a red many known issues score on the is-it-ready-o-meter but doing something like requiring logins and maybe testing with a select group who are clearly informed of the risk before going publick. may work.
well imposible to remove it but after an afternoon of fighting witht the phone, MAPS 3 works with the N85!!! don't ask me how, i have no clue how i did this.... i will test it and keep you gyus updated..
Maybe a louder warning on this site that it's BETA software you can get here. That it can brick your phone and you should not complain about it (in friendlier words :). Bur keep them beta's coming. It's fun if you accept the risk. I get nice stuff on my phone way before the commercial release. I have a voice in development because I can (and will) give feedback on it. And last but not least, you can get good feedback that helps you further in developing nice and usefull software. All winners here. But a BIGGER warning seems necessary for those that are not "beta ready".
For me, the earlier the better. Some things better be designed for earlier. It might not be easy to change something at beta stage. Take PC Suite, for example.
== I hope that Nokia Pilots will have access and permission to visit and use AlphaLabs ==
Very good point about the "communication issue". You do put a sort-of disclaimer on the BL front page, but it might be worth making a crystal-clear definition of what "beta" means to Nokia and on Beta Labs.
Out in the marketplace there is a very, very broad range of "pre-commercial" products out there, ranging from the unusable to the totally mainstream (Gmail is still technically a beta release). So the best solution is probably transparency, transparency transparency.
Sat, 2008-12-06 00:35 MAICON CHAPLIN blog by Carlos:
Unregistered user
I think you are right, but it's normal people to get upset. nevermind.. Anyway, maybe one of the concerns people have is that they are afraid that those software to damage it's devices, so..
But I agree, you did well realising it since the begginning (like any other software), because it's the only way to fix bugs, etc., better and earlier.
hello, it would be nice if the traffic information, the possibility of stocks, these zb 5min all be retrieved and will Nm3 independently online and goes offline.
also it would be good if all the roads are speeding.
otherwise on a N78 a very nice software
I like the beta software and idea of letting the stuff to peoples hands early, but the problem with Nokia Betas is the fact that there is no visible progress on what's being released for long periods of time. This kills the interest and enthusiasim about the software being released. I would propose that Nokia should move in to more frequent release schedules.
It might not be a bad idea to move in to nightly build approach, that's being used by many active open source projects. Obiously, this is not very straight forward or easy (and I have to say that I don't know nothing about how Nokias development have been arranged in this respect), especially not for corporate development teams, that haven't built ground up in to open source development, including the automated release, test and build infrastructure. To achieve this Nokia could either employ a focus task forces, that would help traditional development teams during the beta time to speed up the development cycles or actually open the source code (if they've not done that allready) of their software while in beta cycle and tie the development processes closer to the open source approach in general (and by opening the source code I don't mean giving the copy right or free licensing, just showing up the source and nightly builds).
That's true, but you aren't supposed to use beta versions if you can't risk resetting your phone and installing everything again. Isn't that half the fun of it? ;-)
I agree with Juho's earlier remarks about the need for more frequent updates. First release on Beta labs was 2 Dec 2008 and then nothing until 9 Feb 2009 and now silence again?! If you can't publish software updates, please at least keep us that have shown an interest in pre-release software know what's going on. Let us know a bit about your estimates for the next update/release and if there are areas on which you'd like more or less feedback on. A little like the "Maps Walk navigation research session", I can't see why these sessions couldn't be done online in forums?
Working with software development I've personally found that asking for feedback on specific areas of an application generally causes less sorting and sifting through irrelevant and frustrating mails about stability..
Just some thoughts about how I'd like see Nokia beta labs to evolve towards the public.
I think given the hype over the N97 it might have been good to announce Maps 3.0 but not release the beta the same day. That said, that's PR, rather than technical. From a Beta perspective, I'd say keep them coming, as long as there are instructions on how to remove the beta. I think a lot of the issues people had at first were with being unable to reinstall Maps 2.0 until someone posted the advice above.
hi,
is the picture on the display (indeed there is only a big Maps text with small ovi icon at the bottom) during the start up final one?
ı believe it needs to be improved by using more user friendly start page.
br,
timucin
after update my N96 to latest firmware 12.043 I noticed in the caculator app. the decimal points has become a " □ " square which i find very annoying. I'm eagerly waiting for you guys to say go ahead the N96 compatibility issue with maps 3.0 beta has been settled.
Hi!
Nokia Maps is core part of modern Nokia phones.
Do not play with fire :) I've tested major of Beta Labs apps.
Nokia 3.0 is errmmm...little less mature than other Betas.
Too much open questions raising, without answers.
Well, I managed to navigate with this Beta though.
Have fun Maps Team!
Cant wait to try Maps 3 beta, ... dont forget the FP1 version ;-)
I'd vote for 'earlier' any day - but then again, I read the system requirements, compatibility list, and known issues *before* I decide if I give it a try.
Requiring an account login might be worth a try, but since it would probably be for free I'm adraid it would not stop the professional complainers...
How about some AI noise filter? :-)
Thanks for all the votes and comments!
To conclude, we should:
- keep releasing early
- mark quality level and "what is beta" more clearly (as people don't read small print)
- avoid mainstream marketing and overpromises for early beta releases
hi thanks for letting us, use the labs apps, sadly maps 3 does not work with the n85 yet, i'd like to go back to maps2 but their is no where i find instruction to d this process, could you please give me the link ...thanks and GREAT job
Tommi, was it a lot more noise, than usual?
The increased traffic and noise level could be both attributed to the way Nokia Maps 3 was announced. It came the same time (same source) as the N97 announcement - so many people hurried to pick it up, who got excited over Nokia's new flagship.
One time visitors will surely miss the classification of the betas, so it might be good to repeat it in the Download section (that's what I search for first, reading can come later ;-). And you could change the "bug" description to "Alpha release" or "Limited functionality, many problems".
I have voted for "keep it coming" as I would like to participate as early as possible ;-)
(If the earlier "Nokia account login" topic gets implemented, then alpha releases could be announced to registered users only - solving the communication problem.)
> If the earlier “Nokia account login” topic gets implemented,
> then alpha releases could be announced to registered users
> only - solving the communication problem.
...unless the same thing gets announced in press releases and major events simultaneously :)
Wow :O second vote! Um, anyways, I think the point of beta releases is that those who CHOOSE (choose, no one forces anyone to use them!) to use them, can see the bugs and give feedback to the developers so they can address the problems. That you get the newest inventions the earliest, is only an added perk, it ain't the primary focus of beta software. So, whoever feels "alienated" should re-think their viewpoint: complaining about something you yourself opted for with having the knowledge that it is very possibly faulty, is just plain wrong imo.
I voted for "keep it coming" because I don't mind the faults and flaws of an early beta, but in this particular case a little bit wider compatibility would have been nice;)
HI Tommi. I haven't been much of a help but I have to say that I think you're right. People shouldn't look at Beta apps (and specially Beta labs applications) as a way to get something new early. A beta should be something still with gaps and errors. The sooner one can test it, the easier it will be to add changes, repair bugs or change the way we interact with the application. Early betas may make some people jump off, but they're intended to the ones that really want to test something and help "creating" through feedback.
Cheers
@bhfjojo
You could check, whether you've got another diskcache on MMC so in general e:\private\20001f63\diskcache ...
If so, remove or rename this one too.
Most of the users that install this kind of software, beta software, understand what they are doing and the risks involved.
thanks but it's weird each time i want instal MAPS2 or 3 it tells me can not instal because some apps ar running please clos then down, but i have no apps running??? knowing that i have the latest version of the firmware 1.17 i think. anyway it installs it says insatl complete. then whan i run it says again please instal latest version of maps ( and i check everywhere even did You could check, whether you’ve got another diskcache on MMC so in general e:\private\20001f63\diskcache and also erased the city folder ans the rest)
well i guees i'll just have to wait for a more stable version of maps
I don't mind "before mature stage" beta software, but i would atleast expect it to install properly on my phone. For me, installing properly and not disrupting the phone is the minimum requirement for any beta release. If this much is achieved, i dont mind the software not working the way it is expected to.
But do keep releasing the softwares as soon as possible.
One important difference between the Maps application, and many other applications that have featured in Beta Labs, is that Maps is a "core" app that people may have come to rely on. I certainly use my N95 and Maps 2 a lot to find my way about and would miss it greatly. It is my only Satnav facility, and to be without it would be like being without the ability to make phone calls or send texts.
Putting aside the fact that mine is an FP1 device, if/when there is a MAPS 3 version I can test, to do so I will have to overwrite MAPS 2, and so if at that stage Maps 3 is still fairly unstable, I'd be without a usable Satnav.
If Maps 3 could be tested without losing the ability to use Maps 2, then I think there would be much less potential pressure on the day-1 quality of Maps 3.
That's the issue here, I would suggest. If Maps 3 is all we have to get around with, for those of us who rely on Maps most (and therefore make good beta testers), it needs to be of a reasonable standard before we can start testing it.
On the other hand, if Maps 3 beta could be made capable of running alongside Maps 2 on the same device, that would solve the problem.
Either way, my view is that we should not generalise too much from Maps betas to other Nokia beta testing - because of this important difference - Maps has become a core application (which is a great credit to MAPS developers and to the inventors of the GPS-enabled phone concept).
Hi,
I don't mind beta versions having some bugs, those are "the essential part" of beta's and I really like Beta Labs. This being said I need to express some feedback:
Few things got my attention in Maps 3.0 (http://maps.ovi.com/services/integrated). First it was said that it works in S60 3rd edition FP2 and there was a screenshot of N96. I almost installed it, mostly because of these 2 things. Luckily I was little cautious and read some "small print" and noticed that it doesn't work yet in N96.
So, my suggestion is that keep publishing apps to Beta Labs but be little more precise about the pictures (screenshots of devices) being used, because people don't read texts, they look at pictures.
Cheers,
Teppo
Nokia Maps v2.0.4503 S60v3 SymbianOS9.1 Unsigned Cracked-illusion
now i have purchased navigation for my N95 8GB then found that cracked version posted on this forum
http://www.ipmart-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=374
what next?wait for the cracked Nokia Maps 3 and ask for my money back??
why don't you guys take some actions against this forum??
What makes people really angry is finding out that they can't roll back to the version that worked.
Releasing apps early is no problem, but make sure that the UNinstaller is tested thoroughly before you release it.
@Tommi #6: true, true. If it gets announced like Maps (or Nokia viNe or ...) via marketing, then there is nothing you can do.
Maybe one thing. Explain in Nokia the magic of the words: "immediate availability" :-) If a product gets announced (true not just for software, but devices like the N97), it has to come (<2 months) or has to be, in final form.
@geoffg #24: I very much agree, Maps is one of the popular apps (downloaded 6 million times), so the user base for a beta is enormous.
I've just updated my N96 to v12.043 (OTA -- see blog) .... is it known whether maps works ok on this fw level?
A thought for the future -- would it be possible to install maps with an alternate package name so that v2 and v3 could co-exist.
This is what opera tend to do with opera mini & it works well -- can use the new beta version most of the time, but have a good fallback in case of difficulty.
it's not working with N96, application closes itself after some zoom in at a certain level.
The thing that really annoys me is that Maps 3.0 was being demo'd on a Nokia N95 8GB at the event, both in the dinner I attended, and on the show floor. This is incredibly misleading, given that it's only available to us for Feature Pack 2 devices.
Also, if you're going to say, 'Feature Pack 2 devices', then it needs to be just that - ALL Feature Pack 2 devices.
I've noticed lately that things being released through the beta labs are being released earlier and earlier, as evidenced by the fact that it's less and less about being available for entire groups of devices, and more about being available for specific devices (Share Online v4.0, for example).
I realize the whole point of Beta Labs is to let us test things, so I don't mind bugs and whatnot, but it's really frustrating that I have to read the fine print just to figure out if my device is included in the special list of FP2 devices.
I agree that the major announcement really threw a kink in the Maps v3.0 beta release. Nokia should *definitely* be more careful about publicly announcing something so clearly in alpha.
The Google policy of leaving things tagged as "beta" for years after a successful mainstream product launch (e.g Google video is still in "beta" three years post launch) has coloured peoples expectations of what to expect from a beta product.
You need to clearly tell people in big red letters that cannot be ignored if a product is a test version which may not work or could even damage their phone. Maybe also insist on users correctly answering a few questions about the test nature of the software to prove they've understood the warnings before giving them a download link.
In order not to see the decimal place as a square, I am now using another beta product Nokia Enhanced Calculator. However, the File Manager screen still shows the decimal point as a square. Developer of Maps 3.0 Beta please advise how to change the "□" back to "." since it became like this after I tried the maps 3.0 beta and it failed to work on my N78 (System Error when run after installation completed successfully).
I managed to restore the decimal point from the square after doing a hard reset - Hold down *, 3 and multimedia key for my N78 and switch on the phone. However, after I restore all previous setting from memory card, the square came back again. Please can someone tell me where is this decimal/square setting located.
login in is not a bas idea at all!!!
PLEASE could someone tell me how go back to MAPS.2
tonight i'm going away and i will need to use maps
> PLEASE could someone tell me how go back to MAPS.2
As I wrote in the post above: "we also wrote short instructions to Maps 3.0 beta page"
http://www.nokia.com/betalabs/maps/ => download
---------------
To remove Maps 3.0 beta from your phone and install Maps 2.0:
1) Delete the ‘cities’ folder and the ‘qf’ file on the memory card with File Manager
2) Reinstall Maps 2.0 from maps.nokia.com
3) Start Maps 2.0 once
4) Use Map Loader 2 from maps.nokia.com to download the map data you need
Hey guys, any solution found to restore the decimal point from the irritating square symbol so far? Restore to factory default and upgrade of firmware didn't help at all. (My N78 upgraded from V12.046 to V13.052 and the square still there).
i'm just going to flash the phone and wait for a new version of maps
thankd Tommy, after reinstaling maps2 i tried to open it and at 30% percebt it's telling me imposible to open apps please download the latest version of nokia maps from nokia.com/maps
i tred and it still does the same thing????
Since "Beta" became a "modern" thing over the web, people may be misunderstanding it´s meaning.
BETA is development, is possible problems. No one can complain about a problem, if he decided to install a beta.
Keep them coming!
Cheers
I don't think that the software, or the bugs are the problem.
I think the "maps problem" is more the fact of the announcement.
Because you have announce the software not only to the regular betalabs user, which most of know what beta software ist, but to the normal not tech user too.
Bescause of the spezial Annoncment chip.de and other big computer mazines, republished the news and got new user to beta labs.
I'm with Ricky and many other commenters: keep the stuff coming but try to have wider availability of devices.
Sucessfully installed in my N85 with the Software version 10.045 and the GPS icon changed to a Compass, however I was told 'System Error ' while going to operate the GPS.
As said in the other comments, I think a better - a more precise - description of the level of development will be useful. So you'll avoid confusing the users and non-constructive posts.
Please think about the following:
1. Label of development. It describes how far the dev is. Let's guess 3 different types:
a) just matured from alpha-state, basic functionality, works only on the named devices, operating systems or web browsers.
b) advanced state, works on most of targeted S60 devices, other operating systems (like Linux or Mac) or browers (Firefox, Safari, ...) than Windows and IE are supported in basic functions.
c) Works on every S60 device, operating system or browser. In some cases, depending on used hard- or software, there will be still some errors. this is the last level, the state of development is so far that this software will be a graduate at any time..
As Eismaus said, the big announcements causes the trouble, so avoid this in the future, it is still BETA.
Something new, but nothing that big.
Interested users will provide their (constructive) feedback, but they will not tolerate false promises.
i agree to to release betas early but if you want to release then release for all not only fp2,i been waiting for fp1 for more than 20 days now,this is not fare :(
I have N82 and I m so impatient for Maps 3.0 for FP1 either. :-P And keep releasing beta versions ;)
The site is called Nokia Beta Labs and the app came with a red many known issues score on the is-it-ready-o-meter but doing something like requiring logins and maybe testing with a select group who are clearly informed of the risk before going publick. may work.
well imposible to remove it but after an afternoon of fighting witht the phone, MAPS 3 works with the N85!!! don't ask me how, i have no clue how i did this.... i will test it and keep you gyus updated..
Maybe a louder warning on this site that it's BETA software you can get here. That it can brick your phone and you should not complain about it (in friendlier words :). Bur keep them beta's coming. It's fun if you accept the risk. I get nice stuff on my phone way before the commercial release. I have a voice in development because I can (and will) give feedback on it. And last but not least, you can get good feedback that helps you further in developing nice and usefull software. All winners here. But a BIGGER warning seems necessary for those that are not "beta ready".
For me, the earlier the better. Some things better be designed for earlier. It might not be easy to change something at beta stage. Take PC Suite, for example.
== I hope that Nokia Pilots will have access and permission to visit and use AlphaLabs ==
Very good point about the "communication issue". You do put a sort-of disclaimer on the BL front page, but it might be worth making a crystal-clear definition of what "beta" means to Nokia and on Beta Labs.
Out in the marketplace there is a very, very broad range of "pre-commercial" products out there, ranging from the unusable to the totally mainstream (Gmail is still technically a beta release). So the best solution is probably transparency, transparency transparency.
Cheers,
Jao
I think you are right, but it's normal people to get upset. nevermind.. Anyway, maybe one of the concerns people have is that they are afraid that those software to damage it's devices, so..
But I agree, you did well realising it since the begginning (like any other software), because it's the only way to fix bugs, etc., better and earlier.
hello, it would be nice if the traffic information, the possibility of stocks, these zb 5min all be retrieved and will Nm3 independently online and goes offline.
also it would be good if all the roads are speeding.
otherwise on a N78 a very nice software
I like the beta software and idea of letting the stuff to peoples hands early, but the problem with Nokia Betas is the fact that there is no visible progress on what's being released for long periods of time. This kills the interest and enthusiasim about the software being released. I would propose that Nokia should move in to more frequent release schedules.
It might not be a bad idea to move in to nightly build approach, that's being used by many active open source projects. Obiously, this is not very straight forward or easy (and I have to say that I don't know nothing about how Nokias development have been arranged in this respect), especially not for corporate development teams, that haven't built ground up in to open source development, including the automated release, test and build infrastructure. To achieve this Nokia could either employ a focus task forces, that would help traditional development teams during the beta time to speed up the development cycles or actually open the source code (if they've not done that allready) of their software while in beta cycle and tie the development processes closer to the open source approach in general (and by opening the source code I don't mean giving the copy right or free licensing, just showing up the source and nightly builds).
That's true, but you aren't supposed to use beta versions if you can't risk resetting your phone and installing everything again. Isn't that half the fun of it? ;-)
I agree with Juho's earlier remarks about the need for more frequent updates. First release on Beta labs was 2 Dec 2008 and then nothing until 9 Feb 2009 and now silence again?! If you can't publish software updates, please at least keep us that have shown an interest in pre-release software know what's going on. Let us know a bit about your estimates for the next update/release and if there are areas on which you'd like more or less feedback on. A little like the "Maps Walk navigation research session", I can't see why these sessions couldn't be done online in forums?
Working with software development I've personally found that asking for feedback on specific areas of an application generally causes less sorting and sifting through irrelevant and frustrating mails about stability..
Just some thoughts about how I'd like see Nokia beta labs to evolve towards the public.