The N900 boost: getting the turn-based navigator in...

It has been a while since I was excited about the new (back then) N900. Little did I know that the device will go in couple of months through the war of the MeeGo announcement and several delays in some basic applications. One of those being the basic navigator. Yes, it comes with Ovi Maps 1.0, but that cannot help but tell you where you are (and even that with some aid from the online connection). Having this long introduction, I am here to actually write about the new comer on my device: The Sygic Mobile Maps

The new application comes in a zip file, you un-zip it on the root of the Internal Nokia N900 drive and then install the .deb file. It probably would have been easier via the Ovi.com portal, but since Nokia delayed their acceptance, the Sygic guys decided to go by themselves. After all, the N900 users should know their ways around to install a local file.

Now, let's get to the business of running the application. Firs, it has a wide range of maps (all of Europe, at the price of ~60€). Then, it has many voices available. I would have liked a female voice for English, but the britt there is quite entertaining.

Then, the routing. It starts fast, it remembers the last destination (although, the settings get lost if you don't exit the application the right way... bad programming) and it is easy to use. Also, I like that I can change the things that I want to see (it has quite a nice personalization ideas). The a-gps might come handy, but here, in Finland, I don't make use of it. Another thing was that it had some routing that was not quite the best way to go around, but again, that is hard to please everyone. After all, it gets you from point A to B in the best way a computer can get you.

So, conclusion? I love even more the N900. It has everything that a Linux freak can want (well the most anyway). I hope that Nokia will keep this thing up and with Intel we will see better devices, with better UI and having the best of Free Software running so that more developers will join the fun. Yes, it is a lot of fun to have the N900...