Free GPS on Android...

The 'amaze' GPS platform has been offering free (ad based) GPS solutions for mobiles since they began to incorporate the GPS chips in the handsets.

The software has proved to be very useful on more than one occasion, and as its free, new users aren't limited to a trial period or the usual 'crippleware' which removes key features until money changes hands.

This kind of free software should be the 'norm' for google's new opensource handset but time alone will tell. In fact on this occasion, lots of other users from handsets like Nokia's N96 can also share the love and download for free as well (no joy for iphone users though!).

A mobile revolution!

There's some amazing technology coming out across the handheld platforms and one such example is QIK.

This software basically hijacks your mobile phones camera and streams the sound and pictures straight to 'youtube' style website. What makes it special is that it does this in near real-time.

That means that as you are streaming the content, its being displayed and it's this 'live' element which makes QIK so impressive.

Visitors to the website can also interact with the content creator via built in 'live chat' which gives instant feedback which is once again, in near-realtime.

At the moment, QIK is invitation only and in alpha testing so we can expect to see even more features added to the impressive list I've already mentioned. One feature which is already here though is blog integration, which allows your live or recorded clips to feature directly into a html webpage or blog.

You can check this out for yourself here.

One feature I found really impressive was how this 'live content' is much more impressive to the casual surfer. Knowing that its possible to view live videos being shot away from a webcam is impressive in itself but then to be able to interact with that person takes it to a whole new level altogether.

I checked out the mobilediner via QIK and then was also able to visit the website too. Who would have thought that I could interact with political bloggers in the USA, sat in Starbucks by the Whitehouse in realtime via the QIK website and their N95 handset...

Got an N95? Want free sat nav?

One of the hottest phones of the year is about to get even hotter. One of the hottest features of the phone can now be used for free.

Nokia's groundbreaking handset features GPS 'sat nav' although this feature has been 'crippled' until the end user signs up to a subscription service. Now there is a viable alternative.

offers free sat nav for any handset with either an internal sat nav receiver or one attached via bluetooth. Users can search for addresses in a few countries and although the software is still in developlment, it is quite usable.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
One note of caution, if you leave your handset to display sat photos for the landscape, the handset will download the data over your connection which may incur a charge so read the setup documents properly.

Here's a flash demo of the app in action.

Slow GPS sat lock on the N95?

Now the N95 may be the best mobile on the market at the moment, but many people are struggling with sluggish GPS fixes. It seems that the phone doesn't lock onto the sats as quick as people would like and although I experienced a slightly different problem related to the GPS setup, I did come across an interesting post which seems to offer some advice as to speeding up acquisition time on the handset.

If you'd like to check it out, you may do so on Ed Parson's blog which is here. Good luck and by disabling the network lock option under GPS settings, my phone does seem a little quicker...

Web ' n' Walk - True internet on the go from T-Mobile

This post may look no different to you than any other but the way in which it has been written is a first for me.

I am writing this on my laptop while connected to a high speed 3.5g T-Mobile line via my mobile phone. This offers near-broadband speeds over the same network that carries mobile phone calls.

In turn, the phone is then 'bluetoothed' to my laptop and 'hey-presto' full internet access anywhere where there is a mobile phone signal.

Now this technology isn't really that new but what is new is the way in which mobile companies are opening their networks to flat-rate data pricing rather than per-megabyte pricing. This means that for a flat rate, you can use the internet sevices on your phone handset (or laptop computer), as much as you like.

This is all very similar to the dial up revolution when the cost became fixed rather than per minute pricing. Some analysts cite this as the 'tipping point' for internet uptake, even above broadband introduction.

In any case, this type of service will become more and more popular and it won't be long before all of the mobile providers have a similar flat-rate scheme. At the moment its T-Mobile and 3 that are leading the way with this here in the UK, in fact an Orange rep freely admitted to me yesterday that no-one could touch these networks for data price plans at the moment.

It stands to reason when you think about it, that as the handsets become more and more capable, then the cost for fast,reliable internet via mobile platforms must contine to improve and become cheaper too. My new Nokia N95 handset takes full advantage of internet access by offering a sophisticated browser, media service and even GPS map download service, all of which is done automatically via the mobile network.

And for bloggers such as myself, all this is very good news indeed. Not only is it getting easier and cheaper to blog on the move, the technology is getting more sophisticated too. Take Flickr for example, When I take a pic on my phone handset now, I can instantly upload it to flickr for inclusion on this blog, I don't even need to bluetooth files anymore.

To be fair, We shouldn't be surprised when things like this improve on a consistent basis and I don't usually bat an eyelid myself. Occasionally though, something comes along which radically alters the way in which we work and operate though and for me, This flat rate service from T-Mobile is quite a defining moment.

Ps. for any users who use mac laptops, you'll be pleased to hear that its fairly easy to get everything working with the N95. Even though the mac isn't officially supported,you'll find everything here that you need to get up and running. My thanks to the blog author for writing such a great set of instructions.