Nokia speeds up N95 positioning — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{The flagship phone gets assistance} Nokia speeds up N95 positioning

20 Jul 2007 at 17:47 GMT Timo Poropudas

Nokia has announced a technical framework that will allow service providers to provide their own regional A-GPS services.

This Assisted GPS (A-GPS) service helps Nokia Maps users find their current locations faster and get to their desired locations quicker using their Nokia mobile device with built-in GPS.

Nokia intends to equip all of its future devices that have built-in GPS with this service. The first devices to use this service are the Nokia 6110 Navigator, which has begun shipping in select markets, and the most recent software release of the Nokia N95 multimedia computer. Users have found the positioning with N95 GPS annoyingly slow.

Current owners of the Nokia N95 can take advantage of this service by using the Nokia Software Updater.

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.

"By decreasing the time wasted while you wait for a first fix, we are increasing the enjoyment that Nokia Maps provides," says Ralph ric Kunz, vice-president, multimedia experiences, Nokia. "Consumers now have the comfort of quick fix times which create a better navigation experience when using Nokia Maps."

The service operates in tandem with a technical framework that allows third parties, such as service providers, to provide their own regional A-GPS services, making fix times even faster in certain areas.