Yesterday I tested out Navicore/Wayfinder and the GPS system. My goal was although I knew approx where I was heading to I didn't know 2 aspects: 1) knowing the town where I was heading to I didn't know the exact location of endpoint nor the surrounding streets 2) the fastest route to the target location was unknown to me.

Using A-GPS, I immediately had 8-10 satelites in view, but could not get a lock. My device had been on for a while, so I cannot say I waited long enough to get a lock. In the beginning I had from 0 till 3 satelites in use. It went up and down. While driving, at one point half-way I had 5 satelites, then finally 6, for half a minute. Then 5 again. Meanwhile, the folks who were with us and who drove behind us took what later turned out to be a shorter route at least for the reason they were evading traffic lights, but also more reasons are possible. Interestingly, I was driving from The Netherlands to Germany so I had to manually load the German map while in The Netherlands. Because the Benelux map didn't know the target location in Germany, I had to load the German map. But this provided no voice guided navigation in The Netherlands. I didn't have a lock in The Netherlands either though. Because at the very end I did have a lock (most of the time) I was able to find my way in town. So, how useful was this function of the N8x0 for me? I'd say it was frustrating, and almost useless.

Another let-down, although previously, has been the speed camera function. While useful, it alarms me way too late. I've set it to 250m now, but now it'll beep even when a speed camera is not on my way. Because I also want to state a positive note: a few days ago I had, using AGPS, a very quick lock with always 8-10 satelites in use. Perhaps its related to the weather, I don't know for sure. Traffic information and speed cameras are broadcasted over radio. While the N800 has a build in FM receiver, the N810 doesn't have this. While the N810 has a GPS, the N800 doesn't have this. Argh! Its possible to get a FM radio as addon for the N810, but I don't know if the FM receiver can be used for this functioning then. In the end, if you want recent information, you'll need Internet, and the N810 isn't a good device for 24/7 Internet on the road. It isn't an all in one solution.

Later yesterday I've experienced the options of an iPhone 1. I noticed it has maps function although over GPRS these maps are downloaded slowly. In any case, on an iPhone 2 this has improved, and the iPhone 2 also has GPS. On the iPhone 1 it can also tell how to drive a route, and then you only have directions. You don't know exactly where you're at because it doesn't have GPS, but it does know approx because it uses a cellphone.

IMNSHO the N8x0, by default, isn't usable for navigation system but its personal opinion and experience. One very important thing to realize is this: you need a proper test-case. You need to really find out of the device works for you. To do so, you must be careful to decide when you are going to activate your Navicore/Wayfinder. You only have one 7-day shot. Perhaps its better to use Maemo Mapper to start with, or the above extension of trial period. I find Maemo Mapper... too cluttered/vague/weird/difficult to use.

Now, the question is, what is the alternative? Nokia Maps looks pretty good, or maybe a full blown TomTom (these also run on Linux). I heard the iPhone 2 will include a TomTom navigation system. We'll see...