10 Of The Coolest, Free Applications For Your GPS-Enabled Nokia N95 Smartphone
Written by Glenn Letham
21 September 2007
The Nokia N95 is in my mind one of those must-have devices. Sleek, powerful, packed full of memory, GPS-enabled, a 5 megapixel camera, high quality video recording, Bluetooth enabled, I could go on and on. Ideal for the outdoor enthusiast, a dream device for the business user. The Nokia N95 is now available to North American users and may finally be positioned to start making headlines... do you want one? If you've picked one up or plan on getting one then here's a handy list of must have, free applications that will run on your Nokia N95 or other Symbian S60 3 smartphone. Did I mention that these applications are all free?
Read on for a hand-picked list of some of the best applications you'll find to help you be more productive with your Symbian Smartphone. Best of all, most of these applications enable you to take advantage of the GPS positioning provided by location-aware mobile devices like the Nokia N95... did I miss something? Please tell me about it!
fring - If you have access to Wi-Fi or a 3G network from your mobile then fring is for you. the application enables live chat, skype, MSM Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, Twitter, etc... from your mobile... think mobile VoIP. What's VoIP and why should you care about it? If your concerned with those nasty roaming charges when you leave the country or perhaps your missing your IM connections then VoIP is for you. This client enables you to call or IM people anywhere on the Globe regardless of where you are... for free. See http://www.fring.com/
shozu - shozu is one of those "must have" apps for your mobile device. Simply put, it enables once-click access and upload of your media (images, video, files etc...) from your mobile device. Shozu crunches the file so you can save data upload charges, it also enables you to easily post your photos to flickr, upload a video to youtube, post to a blog like blogger, send media via email etc... you get the picture! Beyond the productivity enhancements, shozu also enables you to keep a constant backup of your mobile contacts. Finally, another part of shozu you may not be familiar with is the ability to subscribe to zucasts. Zucasts are photos, shows, news etc... automatically delivered to your mobile device. How about a photo of the day, top ABC news headlines, CNN marketplace updates, or maybe the babe of the day! See www.shozu.com
Mosh - This is a relatively new service from Nokia.. aka. MObilize & SHare. Using mosh, users can create a profile, upload songs, videos, images, games, wallpapers, even a fully function evaluation of your mobile application. Users can discuss and share their favorite applications with the other community members... think social networking for the Nokia device user. Create, Collect, and Share is their mantra. See mosh.nokia.com
locr - This application boasts to solve the what, when and where. I find this app particularly useful for those Nokia N95 users having difficulties working with the GPS, in particular to geotag photos. Install and load locr, then invoke the GPS, upload your photos to your locr gallery or send them to flickr... the GPS tagging actually works!! Users can create their own locr image gallery and then view photos on a Google Map or as a KML within Google Earth. Users can also view Another MUST have! http://www.locr.com
sports tracker - This very popular app comes out of the Nokia Research Labs. Designed for the sports enthusiast, users can manage and track their progress suing the sports tracking application. Create a work-out, plot your route, track it using GPS, export your route to Google Earth as a KML, monitor your time, direction, location etc... Users can keep a workout diary, save routes, and map their GPS log... did I mention its totally free! Requires S60 3 devices. See http://research.nokia.com/research/projects/SportsTracker/
Zurfer is one of those addictive social networking applications that you MUST have! This one actually comes out of the Yahoo! research labs and takes advantage of your position to share photos, see other photos around you, and take advantage of you flickr photos. Idea for the frequent traveler, Zurfer enables users to update their position, then they can see photos that are captured near them. Likewise, you can view and share your flickr photos with other Zurfer users or view your contact's photos while your away. Follow your contacts and take your photos with you using Zurfer. See http://zurfer.research.yahoo.com/
yahoo! Zonetag is another fantastic application from Yahoo! Research - this application makes using the GPS capabilities of the N95 (or other GPS-enabled device) a snap. Simply activate the GPS, take a photo, upload to flickr, share with others, view it on a map. Zonetag tags your photos with a cell location tag, and other location-centric tags - users can optionally decide not to share the location tags with others. A cool but perhaps unknown feature is that photos that are zonetagged can be shared with the upcoming service (See http://upcoming.yahoo.com) For details on Zonetag see http://zonetag.research.yahoo.com/
twibble - The location-aware twitter client for the smartphone. Do you twitter? If so then twibble is the perfect add-on that enables you to easily twitter from your mobile regardless of where you are. Simply grab the app, link it to your twitter account, then start twibbling. See http://www.das-zentralorgan.de/twibble/
Yahoo! Go - Think mobile search, mobile web and more. a must have for those of you with a yahoo! user profile, Yahoo! Go enables you to have instant and simple access to the latest news, local search, maps, and email provided via yahoo! Check or send from your Yahoo! email account wherever you are... I use this to forward my email while on the road.. very nice! Hands-down, one of the best mobile search portal clients around. See http://mobile.yahoo.com
Widsets - are you addicted to news? If so then widsets is for you. Subscribe to loads of popular news feeds or simply create a feed of your own by grabbing an RSS feed. Very simple but very useful. See http://www.widsets.com
BONUS APPLICATION - a reminder!
Bonus tip... Nokia Maps - updated with a new UI and a better search utility, Nokia Maps is a must visit for the N5 user and traveler. Download Maps from 150 countries and take them with you. The latest software release for N95 includes the Assisted GPS service (A-GPS) enabling quick GPS fix. Of note, Nokia Maps is being integrated into Ovi (ovi.nokia.com) , the door to Nokia's Internet services. See http://maps.nokia.com
As a fan and user of the Nokia N95 I frequently post news, tips etc.. focused on the N95. To help keep tabs on things I've created a blog where I maintain some useful bookmarks and resources to share with other N95 users. See the Glenn 95 Blog at http://nokian95user.blogspot.com/. Looking for official news and PR of interest to the Nokia N95? See this section on the LBSzone
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
The Nokia N95 is in my mind one of those must-have devices. Sleek, powerful, packed full of memory, GPS-enabled, a 5 megapixel camera, high quality video recording, Bluetooth enabled, I could go on and on. Ideal for the outdoor enthusiast, a dream device for the business user. The Nokia N95 is now available to North American users and may finally be positioned to start making headlines... do you want one? If you've picked one up or plan on getting one then here's a handy list of must have, free applications that will run on your Nokia N95 or other Symbian S60 3 smartphone. Did I mention that these applications are all free?
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