I will preview the Nokia Maps 1.0 Update that is going to be publicly available soon. I was already told what to expect in the update, so I tested out the navigation on my Nokia N95 during lunch to see for myself. Take a look at the screenshots to see how it looks.

First thing I noticed in the update is the big “Nokia Maps” label during the startup which was not there previously in my Nokia N95. The version number displayed at the About screen says, v1.1 wk23 b04.

There are new indicators showing the bandwidth indicators and GPS status. The lower left portion indicates if something is being downloaded. If you have downloaded the maps already in Maploader, it will just stay at “zero bits”. You know the GPS is connected to satellites if there are three green lights on the lower right screen. A flashing orange indicates that your location is not locked on.

The menu also improved. Nokia added a multi-level menu where you can browse subcategories. For example, I did not know what to eat for lunch. I browsed for different kinds of places to see if anything interests me. My search went like this: Find Place -> Nearby -> Eat & Drink -> Restaurant. A list of different types of restaurants pops up.

If you already know what you want, it is faster to just search by keyword by doing: Find Place -> Keyword search -> type ‘chinese’. My phone found several right away and pressing the call button on any of the results instantly connects me to the restaurant.

Another change from the previous version is the ability to start navigating even without a GPS fix. This means I can start guessing to drive toward the destination even if I am not locked on yet. On the previous version, I needed a GPS fix before I can choose the option “Navigate to” or else I receive an error message.

I also like the color changes on the map. The path to follow during navigation is now dark gray instead of bright blue. In my opinion the dark grey is better to the eye and less confusing whether I am on an expressway or following the GPS. I am not really sure about this, but it also felt like I was able to get a GPS fix faster with the updated Maps application.

This version is not available to the public yet. If you own a symbian/nokia/s60 blog and would like to try this out, let me know in a comment below and I’ll be happy to send it out to you. I am only allowed to share it with a few individuals and keep in mind that the software is still not a final version.

For more screenshots, check out my flickr page.