Nokia N800 with Navigation Pack Mini Review

29Jan08

I got myself a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet over the Christmas holidays and have been using it a fair about since then, and although I was interested in it as a sat-nav (with the Bluetooth GPS reciever whose model number escapes me right now), I have to admit, it’s quite a useful device.

Sure, I guess I don’t NEED it, but now that I’ve got it, it’s pretty awesome. It’s not a phone, despite its appearances and the manufacturer; the term ‘Internet Tablet’ is pretty meaningless to non-techies, and even then it’s still pretty vague and, its usability/multimedia abilities are not as svelte as say, the iPod Touch, which seems to be its main competitor.

However, I have grown to love it, primarily because in addition to a fully functional satnav (akin to the TomTom); it’s also pretty good outside the car as well, and looking at the prices of some top end GPS systems, I think the N800 with the Navigation Pack (about £100 extra) gives the dedicated devices a run for their money. Incidentally, for some reason, getting the Navpack in the UK is a pretty difficult task. Nokia themselves don’t stock it either online or in stores. I had to phone round several companies till I found a stockist who’d be able to ship it to me next day.

The software that initially comes on the N800 is the now defunct OS2007; it is superseded by OS2008, which can be updated using the Windows only Nokia updater. However, it doesn’t take too long to do it manually; the OS image can be downloaded here and updated on Mac OS X using an app called 770Flasher.app. It updates in about 5 minutes, and the newer OS is more ‘finger friendly’ than its elder brother.

As for the mapping, OS2008 comes with the ‘Maps’ application, which makes the Navicore software that comes with the Navkit redundant. HOWEVER, here’s a cool little factoid; the license code that comes with the Navicore software, works on the new Wayfinder (Maps) app on OS2008. What’s more, unlike the N810, the Wayfinder software activated using an old code is not time limited:

If you have purchased a license code to the Nokia N800 Navicore software, the license code can be registered into the Wayfinder Map application, and it will not be a 36-month license, but a normal license code that is not time-restricted.

Excellent! Now, to load the maps, well, you can either download them freely from within the Map program from Nokia’s slow servers or… get them from the Navkit DVD that you already have! Check out this post for instructions!

With that sorted, it’s time to play! Well, not yet, because unlike it’s competitor, because OS2008 is built on Linux; specifically, Maemo, more things need to be tinkered and installed until I was happy. More on that later.

The GPS/turn by turn navigation is really good, the maps are from TeleAtlas (the same folks who supply TomTom) and traffic updates can be downloaded FREE over WiFi. Obviously it’s not real-time, but still handy to update before setting out. It lists stuff like closed roads, broken lights etc. Though strangley enough, the roadworks near me (started in Nov 2007 to finish in Mar 2008) isn’t on there. Who knows?

Performance wise, it’s a little laggy when you’re poking it about, but it’s never slow. Dynamic re-routing is pretty fast and the GPS receiver can usually get a signal in my car in around 1 minute. A complete cold start might take 2 What’s great is that even when walking around, having the GPS is fantastic as it’s almost like a paper map, except it knows where you are (X marks the spot) and a quick jab on the POI (Points of Interest) button lets you know of any nearby metro stations/tourist attractions/musuems/petrol stations. This came in super handy the other weekend when I was in Paris. It’s awesome being able to see which Metro station is closest and then guide you there turn by turn.

Below: Checking our location during the obligatory riverboat cruise. You can see that we were indeed on the river. Which is handy.

So, conclusion? There’s a lot of comparisons and video reviews on YouTube which I recommend you watch but for me, this is a great device, and for the price £180+£100 = £280 is the equivelent of a TomTom, but far more useful out of the car. It’s a no brainer.

EDIT: Regarding battery life, it lasts about 2-3 hours of continuous usage at near full CPU, for stuff like active web browsing and media playback. With the GPS on, dim screen, 4-5 hours when consulting it periodically (the screen switches off during periods of inactivity) and about 2 days of passive email retrieving. I definitely had to charge it up every night when I was away in Paris.

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