Nokia promises 1 min GPS quick fix

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 19 July 2007 19:52

Opinion and Analysis

Got a Nokia N95 and wish it got a GPS lock much faster? Nokia’s 6110 already does it, and the N95 can do it too, with a satellite lock promised in less than one minute!

It’s good news for owners of Nokia’s GPS capable phones , with the ability to use A-GPS, or assisted GPS, to dramatically speed up the time taken to find orbiting satellites and connect to them so you can get a GPS lock and start navigating.

Nokia says they want all their GPS capable phones and future devices to use this feature, and for N95 owners who’ve had to wait up to 5 minutes to get a GPS lock, this is very good news indeed.

N95 owners need simply use the ‘software update’ facility of the PC Suite software and upgrade their N95’s firmware to the new v12 to take advantage of this feature, while the new Nokia 6110 Communicator is already able to do this.

Nokia says that this service “has the ability to reduce the time a connected mobile device with built in GPS needs to find its current position, known as time to first fix (TTFF) for most geographical locations worldwide. The reduced fix times can increase and improve the usability for all Nokia location-based experiences”.
 
Ralph Eric Kunz, VP of multimedia experiences at Nokia said in a statement that: "By decreasing the time wasted while you wait for a first fix, we are increasing the enjoyment that Nokia Maps provides. Consumers now have the comfort of quick fix times which create a better navigation experience when using Nokia Maps."
 
Reuters has reported Kunz as also saying that “It will be reliably under one minute in most countries”. 

Nokia also says that cell phone companies can switch A-GPS on in their networks for customers, helping GPS lock times to be even faster still than by using Nokia’s new A-GPS alone.

Nokia does warn that use of the A-GPS service uses the data network and that, depending on which provider you’re with, data fees vary, so make sure to “check” the cost of data on your phone plan.

The short version is that if your provider offers a cheap and/or generous data allowance, it’s definitely worth considering as A-GPS will use some data, although it’s not going to be a massive amount.