GPS on Nokia E71

[Palfrem]

Good morning

I have recently been persuaded to get with the 21st century and get a new phone.

I now have an E71

Interesting!


I have a question on the GPS and navigation.

Is the function of this feature dependant on the service provider (Orange in my case) or is it just a feature of the phone like a Tom-Tom?

It can see 4 satellites but the bars never turn black indicating it has collected data.

It shows "no connection" or "waiting for GPS" for ages on the main navigation screen which is why I thought it may need an upgrade from Orange before it worked.

Any ideas please chaps?

Thanks

 

[Dryce]

I have a question on the GPS and navigation.

Is the function of this feature dependant on the service provider (Orange in my case) or is it just a feature of the phone like a Tom-Tom?

It can see 4 satellites but the bars never turn black indicating it has collected data.

It shows "no connection" or "waiting for GPS" for ages on the main navigation screen which is why I thought it may need an upgrade from Orange before it worked.

The phone uses two methods of location for A-GPS.

The first is to use the information from the service provider and roughly triangulate between any masts/cells that are within range. In practice this is very quick in urban areas where there are lots of cells. Out in the middle of the country you may be in range of one mast so it only knows your location within a several mile circle.

To make this work you need an internet connection and the phone needs to be able able to get the information from the service provider. It's very useful in urban areas where the phone may not get good sight of satellites and the cell density means that it gets good triangulation from the cell masts.

Then there is GPS itself. For which you need clear sight of 4 or more satellites to work properly.

The E71 is incredibly slow to lock on IME. It can take 10 to 15 minutes and needs clear sight of the sky. The phone works well with A-GPS and will get a fast lock on your position if it can triangulate using the service provider - but is a bit of a pain getting a lock without it.