Third Party GPS Applications on N95

The Third Party applications MGMaps and Shozu can both use the GPS built into the Nokia N95. Both applications are free of cost however if you use them with the cellular network you may be charged according with your cellular provider's data plan. An alternative to the cellular network is available if you are near a WiFi/WLAN network since WiFi support is also built into the N95.

Note about GPS: GPS works best outdoors in areas that do not have obstructions blocking the sky (where the GPS satellites are located). Some of these obstructions include tall buildings, trees, and sometimes clouds can cause problems receiving the signal. GPS often does not work indoors. The N95 comes with an application named GPS Data that shows how many satellites are visible and how strong the signal is for them. Before trying to use GPS or if you're having problems with the GPS open the GPS Data application select Position, then press Options and choose Satellite status to view your signal. In Satellite status clear bars are visible satellites but are not locked on yet dark bars are satellites that have been locked onto. To get the GPS position fastest place the N95 on a stabile surface with the keypad slid open. You can watch the Satellite status but try not to move the N95 around when you are trying to get the GPS position.

MGMaps
 MGMaps is a third party Java application that can be used to view maps from Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, microsoft Live Maps, and Ask.com Maps. Despite the name MGMaps is not made by Google it is made by an independent developer and volunteer testers. Google has their own Java version of Google Maps but it is limited to certain countries and only Google's mapping data. Keep in mind that MGMaps is updated on a fairly regular basis. You can download and install the most recent version for free from its website MGMaps.com.

In order to use the internal GPS you will need to select it in the GPS settings of MGMaps. After installation MGMaps will be available in the Application shell. When using MGMaps you will be asked if the application can have permision to access the network and then you will need to choose a working access point (cellular or WiFi). After you have MGMaps open, select Options then choose Settings. There will be a few different categories of settings available select the setting named GPS then choose Select Device. At this point there will be a few different GPS device types to choose from (Bluetooth, Serial, Internal, None, etc.) highlight the choice that says Internal and press the center navigation key then press Save. (If you don't press the center navigation key the internal GPS device is not selected and the settings remain the same.) After you have selected the internal GPS it will ask for permission to access GPS Positioning data press Yes. After you have these steps done press Back until you are at the main MGMaps screen showing the website and version listed. Press Options then select Start. You might be asked what access point MGMaps can use. You should select either a WiFi access point or the cellular access point that allows internet access. When the network connection is established the maps will start to download and you will be viewing Google's Maps on your N95.

The key control layout is fairly easy once you get used to it. Up, Down, Left, Right scrolls around the map, # key Zoom in, and * key Zooms out. To switch between different Map providers press 0 (Zero). By default MGMaps has Google Maps, Google Satellite, and Google Hybrid enabled. To view other maps from different providers (Yahoo, microsoft, Ask.com) you will need to select them in the settings. To get to the Map providers setting Press Options, choose Settings, Choose Map Browsing and scroll to the bottom of the settings then select whatever Map providers you like. As you may have noticed there are many settings in MGMaps so feel free to try out different settings to see what settings you prefer to have enabled and what you want turned Off.

Shozu
The other third party application that can use N95's GPS is Shozu. Some of you that share photos and videos maybe already familiar with Shozu. Mainly Shozu is an S60 uploading application. It can be used to upload your photos and videos to various different photo and video sharing sites that Shozu has support for. Recently the feature to download audio and videos from certain sites was also added to Shozu that they call Zucasts (but are basically podcasts from afew specific sites). One of the features of the newest release of Shozu (version 3.1) is geotagging. What is geotagging you might ask? Geotagging is adding geographic specific tags to your photos that are uploaded to photo/video sharing sites. For example, Flickr supports Geotagging by default. When a photo is uploaded to Flickr with geotags it automatically places the photo on a Map showing the location where the photo was taken. Shozu is a free application/service. SisX packages can be downloaded and installed from its website Shozu.com.

After you have installed Shozu you will need to activate it with your username/PW from the Shozu site. After activation you will need to enable GPS geotagging since by default it is turned off. To enable GPS tagging open Shozu, press Options, select Settings, select Share-It, then look at the last setting within Sharing that is GPS tagging. Simply turn GPS tagging On and press Back twice to return to main Shozu screen. Now in order for Shozu to add the geotags your N95 must have the GPS position when you take the photo. The easiest way to tell if your N95 currently has the GPS position is to open the GPS data application. When you see the GPS data showing it has the GPS position, open the camera and take a photo/video. Then upload it using Shozu to your preferred photo/video sharing site. (Not all photo/video sharing sites support geotagging. To find out check your photo/video sharing site if they support it. As mentioned earlier Flickr does support geotagging.) If N95 does not have the GPS position leave GPS data application open then open the keypad and set the N95 down on a stabile surface with a clear view of the sky away from obstructions (tall buildings, trees, etc.). (Note: if you have problems getting the GPS position see the second paragraph at the top of this blog entry that has some tips on how to get GPS working for you.)

As an example of geotagging, Click the link here to see a geotagged photo taken by N95 then uploaded to my Flickr account using Shozu.