Google Maps Updated To Include Voice Search For Nokia E71, E72

s60-voice-search You have to love Google’s constant updates to their Maps software. They never seem to forget about Symbian S60 devices when many companies pretend Symbian doesn’t exist. The newest feature coming to Google Maps on the E71 and all other Nokia smartphones is voice search. This new feature combined with street view, synced favorites to your account, transit times/directions, and much more makes Google Maps one of the most useful applications available for your smartphone.


My Thoughts & Results

Tell your phone where you want to go and you’ll get results. I’ve tested this new feature alot on my N97 and E71 and it’s amazing how accurate Google is at understanding your voice. And right now my voice is completely shot. I’m battling a cold so it’s raspy and horrible sounding. I’ve attended two LA Kings playoff games in the past five days, cheering wildly for the team. My voice is weak. Still, Google Maps had about a 90% accuracy rate in my tests. I even tried once with the windows down and radio on in the car. Granted the radio was not turned up loud but still there were outside noises and it didn’t have a problem. I even searched for addresses. Four digits and a weird street name, along with the city. Google Maps handled it well.

It seems a few small things in the UI have also been updated to give it a much cleaner look. I love the  way Google Maps now integrates with my Google account, showing my favorites both on the PC and phone.

How To Use

The Google Mobile Blog tells you how to use this feature:

Search by voice lets you easily search for anything by simply speaking your search terms instead of typing them. Just open Google Maps, press your phone’s “call” button, and clearly speak your search term like “Park Plaza.” Search by voice works with all the kinds of searches Google Maps for mobile already supports, including places, addresses (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway), specific businesses (The French Laundry), or types of businesses (sushi restaurants new york).

Go to m.google.com/maps from your phone’s browser to get the newest version. Let us know what you think and if you have similar results.

Nokia E71 Firmware Version 410.21.010 Released; White E71 Going For $199

There has been some big news for the Nokia E71 as of late. We recently told you about Ovi Maps adding free voice navigation for E71 users, and now we get another firmware update (if you're one of the lucky ones). This new firmware brings the E71 to version 410.21.010 with a few new functions and a handful of changes and improvements. Good times!

Not to mention Amazon just dropped the price of the E71 White to $199.99. Update: The deal is now over, back up to regular price.

Not a bad deal if you don't feel like spending cash on the E72 ($339.99) and have been itching for the white E71 version. Personally I've never had my hands on the white E71 but I know a few people who absolutely adore it. Might be a good pickup if you can get some cash for your old E71 (maybe $100) and pick up a new white one with a renewed warranty.

Back to the firmware update!

Daily Mobile got their hands on the changelog for the new E71 firmware. Here it is:

NEW FUNTIONALITIES:
Following baselines/functionalities have been upgraded.
• Nokia Messaging IM2.0.19
• Gimlet v9.6.0.16
• Mail for Exchange 3.0.50

CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS:
• Many functionality and Stability improvements in MfE. MFE3.0 has new features like HTML and Subfolders support.
• IM2.0.19 has many localization error corrections. IM installation has been moved to Phone Memory instead of Memory Card. IM response time has improved (Ex: entry/exit/edit/save options)
• Phone activation baseline upgraded
GENERAL
• Stability and functionality improvements
• Email and WLAN functionality improvements
• Email application freezes
• Samsung memory reboot issues
CALL HANDLING
• Fix for phone reboot issue when contact has Internet telephony detail
CALENDAR/CLOCK
• Fix for Chinese characters in Lunar calendar
• Fix for Western Sahara country legal issue
CONNECTIVITY
• Improvement in Connection establishment with slow gprs
• Fix for WLANsniffer scanning enabled in the background when it should be disabled
CONTACTS/PHONEBOOK
• Fix for contact search with space
EMAIL
• Mail for Exchange upgraded from 2.9.176 to 3.0.50
• Gimlet updated to v9.6.0.16
• Many functionality and stability improvements in MfE
• Fix for Gmail folder issue in UK and Germany for Gmail/GoogleMail configuration
• Fix for email application freeze
QWERTY KEYBOARD
• Usability improvements
• Fix for Backslash character for Portugese language
• Fix for missing characters in French/Italian languages
MESSAGING
• Improvement in sending SMS when memory is full
• Nokia IM chat response time improved. Lot of localization errors fixed
Visit Daily Mobile for a list of E71 product codes that got the update.

I can't get my Nokia E71 out of v20 firmware. It's still not finding any newer updates. I wonder how many of you are having this problem.

If you are able to update let us knhow how you like the new firmware. And remember to backup your data!

Nokia E71 Gets Free Voice Navigation With Ovi Maps Application



All I can say is that it's about time. Back in January it was announced that new Nokia smartphones would come with free voice navigation in the Ovi Maps application. The E71 was not on that list. The N97 and E72 was initially included, along with a few other devices. This pissed off a lot of E71 users because it is such a popular device.

Just a few minutes ago I was checking my rss feeds and came across this post by the official Ovi blog, announcing that Ovi Maps with free navigation is now available for the Nokia E71 and E66. This is huge news for readers of this blog. You now can rely on Ovi Maps for turn by turn navigation. Prior to this I would only use Google Maps on my E71, but that didn't include voice navigation like Ovi Maps does.

From the Ovi Blog...

The latest Ovi Maps with free walk and drive navigation is now available for Nokia E71 and Nokia E66. Download it now for your Nokia GPS phone at
nokia.com/maps...

...After listening to your overwhelmingly positive feedback and feeling your love for your favourite mobile phone, we have now created a custom version that works on Nokia E71 and Nokia E66. However, because of technical constraints, it isn’t possible to offer premium content such as Michelin and Lonely Planet guides on these devices.

Although these two devices will also be the last of our S60 3.1 and older devices to
sport this version of Ovi Maps, all upcoming Nokia GPS phones will get free walk
and drive navigation. But we are already feeling your excitement: grab your Ovi Maps with free navigation now at nokia.com/maps!

Rafe from All About Symbian has some comments on this new version of Ovi Maps 3.3 running on the E71, with a handy tip about free memory...

Ovi Maps is a relatively large install and will be placed on the C: drive, so you will need to ensure that you have enough free disk space (recommended 10MB or more) before installing the new version. It will replace any existing version
of Ovi Maps or Nokia Maps that is installed on the device.

In usage there are occasions, as with earlier version on the Nokia E71, when Ovi Maps can feel somewhat sluggish compared to more recent devices. However the streamlined user interface is a significant improvement and the new version is a recommended install for all E71 and E66 users, not least for the availability of free car and pedestrian navigation.

For those of you who don't know much about Ovi Maps or haven't tried it I would tell you to give it a shot. I compared it to my sister's TomTom and I prefer Ovi Maps a little more. The directions are more clear and you have more views and layouts to choose from.

Don't forget that you can load up maps to your memory card when the phone is connected to a computer using Nokia Maps Loader. I highly recommend this to save time and data usage. Now the E71 won't have to connect to the web everytime you open Ovi Maps.

Visit nokia.com/maps to download Ovi Maps for the Nokia E71. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on this and your experience with this new version.

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