[arunkk]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

AGPS is assisted GPS. Before your GPS locks onto the triangle, A-GPS, by using the nearest towers from which your cell receives the signal gives you an aproximate location. Without GPS, there is no AGPS.

Thats wrong. There are phones without dedicated GPS hardware, but can still show your approximate location on the map using A-GPS. I used to use the A-GPS on my N73 which didnt have a GPS hardware.

[EssYouWe]

The Blackberry 8320 is retailing for around 7.5k. Does it make sense to pick it up? It offers almost the same stuff as the 8520, but comes with a trackball.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by arunkk

... without dedicated GPS hardware, but can still show your approximate location on the map using A-GPS. ...

True, but that is not A-GPS, or rather the first part of A-GPS. Mapping software like Google Maps uses the nearest cell phone tower location (GPS coordinates) as a source in the absence of GPS device / signal. A-GPS uses this to initialize a seed value for the GPS section to lock on to the GPS signal faster. No GPS section on mobile = no A-GPS.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by RakishRam

I may be wrong, but I dont think there is a black version of N8. All you get is a dark grey, which almost looks black
see available colours here.
If you are anyway ready to wait, then wait for E7 or N9 which could be better bets.

Yeah dark grey, for a layman like me its black. The sales guy also corrected my request form - he scratched out black and wrote dark grey

I have been waiting for the E7 for a while now. So dillydallying on the N8. No idea about the N9, is it really happening?

If N9 == N8 + slideout qwerty. Then its some more waiting for me. I could like to have that camera.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

True, but that is not A-GPS, or rather the first part of A-GPS. Mapping software like Google Maps uses the nearest cell phone tower location (GPS coordinates) as a source in the absence of GPS device / signal. A-GPS uses this to initialize a seed value for the GPS section to lock on to the GPS signal faster. No GPS section on mobile = no A-GPS.

That's the correct explanation. N73 has the provision of pairing a bluetooth GPS module and then using the Nokia maps, or Google maps. Now it's A-GPS. While Nokia maps would refuse to start if there's no paired GPS module, Google maps intelligently uses Cell triangulation method to give you an approximate location, which is accurate to no more than a few hundred metres.

The biggest hurdle for mobile phone GPS is the antenna. Due to various constraints, it cannot be made as good as a dedicated GPS module and hence the need for a GPRS/EDGE connection to a server that would assist the GPS in getting a lock.

The GPS would get a lock even without the network, but it'll take quite a long time. On the Chennai-Bangalore route, I tried putting my 5800 in offline mode and accessing Nokia GPS Data. It took me a good 7 minutes and a few seconds to get a satellite lock. There were at least 4 satellites constantly showing 100% strength and another 3 with 70%+ strength. However with network available, Google maps takes just a few seconds to give you the location. The best positioning I've got is upto 40m with 4 satellites tracking me (I could see the arrow instead of the blue dot) at ~90kmph

Originally Posted by beejay

Sorry for sounding stupid. I have a E5 with me and was wondering if I need to have a anti virus installed?
If yes, what do you recommend?

Before helping you with the question, let me provide some valuable info. A virus is a program that runs without your knowledge and harms your computer/mobile phone/tablet. How do they get in? Our carelessness. For a PC, if we install software that's not from trusted sites, or visit crappy sites (porn, cracked software, cracking sites, phishing sites), and if you do not have enough security measures (running Windoze without an antivirus and firewall, browsing Linux as root user).

The same things apply for mobile phones, but here, somebody pushing a virus thru a website is pretty uncommon. The browsers are now a days really bullet proof. Browsers like Opera Mini/Mobile actually cache the site in their servers where they have some level of security and only then send it to your phone. Another point of vulnerability is bluetooth. Unless you accept a file from another mobile or PC, it cannot reach your phone. Even if it reaches your phone, if you do not open it, it cannot do anything on its own. The structure of the Symbian OS is like that.

Now ask me how I'm so sure of all this? I've tried a lot of such things with my N73. While travelling in the Chennai suburban metro trains, I would get a lot of bluetooth requests from infected N70s and N73s - mostly the file would be a direct link to a stupid website, or a file that would get installed and send sms to some number (Unless you have enough balance or you have the sms centre set correctly, the sending would fail). Some of them get infected thru the memory card. Simply swapping the card with an infected phone would get some crappy installer copied. When you accidentally open it, it'll start its work.

The answer to your question now. An antivirus eats up precious resources of your phone - processor, RAM and battery. Result - a sluggish phone and very low battery life. So, do not install antivirus software. They're not worth the price IMO.

Be wary of malware that comes from non-trustworthy sites that let you download mobile software for free. Use only Ovi or getjar.com or similar trusted sites to download software. They're symbian signed. Do not accept unknown files via bluetooth - the filetype would be shown when you get a file transfer request.

Backup your phone regularly using Ovi Suite/PC Suite. My suggestion is to use the PC to backup rather than use the net. It's wise to have a scheduled backup set to run, which will backup the contents of your phone memory to the memory card at a set time every week or month.

[beejay]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Backup your phone regularly using Ovi Suite/PC Suite. My suggestion is to use the PC to backup rather than use the net. It's wise to have a scheduled backup set to run, which will backup the contents of your phone memory to the memory card at a set time every week or month.

Thanks a lot for the help silver steed. Really helpful.

[geeta]

I am using a Nokia 3120 Classic. I purchased it two years back and till now I have faced no problem in it. Even nice price for a 3G phone. Only one thing I want in this set is GPS.

[pranxter]

With regards to the discussion on GPS on Mobiles I can vouch that their accuracy compared to the standalone GPS devices like Visiontac etc is low and not upto mark. The A-GPS on my Samsung Galaxy S mobile takes quite a lot of time for a GPS Lock even in Clear Blue Sky.

[NetfreakBombay]

Cell phone stops bullet and saves life :

Cellphone Stops Bullet, Saves Man's Life - The Consumerist

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Cell phone stops bullet and saves life :

Cellphone Stops Bullet, Saves Man's Life - The Consumerist

Wonder if other brands would have done the job better? :-P

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Cell phone stops bullet and saves life :

Cellphone Stops Bullet, Saves Man's Life - The Consumerist

This is going to take Kevlar out of the bullet-proof jacket business.

Now we will have them with discarded mobile cell batteries.

[amitk26]

Either bullet had already lost the energy or it was a deflected splinter IMHO so even if phone was not there it would have just caused an injury but no life threat.

[geeta]

May be the stand alone GPS device will provide more accuracy than a mobile phone but still it can be used by those persons who don't want to spend more on a separate device.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by geeta

May be the stand alone GPS device will provide more accuracy than a mobile phone but still it can be used by those persons who don't want to spend more on a separate device.

If your phone has an in built GPS chip, why would you get more accuracy with a stand alone GPS, considering you have 4-5 satellite visibility?

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If your phone has an in built GPS chip, why would you get more accuracy with a stand alone GPS, considering you have 4-5 satellite visibility?

It's not just a chip, it involves some hardware, including a GPS antenna. It's the quality of the antenna that decides the signal strength captured by the GPS hardware.

A dedicated GPS module will have a better antenna. Reason being, there's nothing else except the GPS hardware. In a mobile phone, you have the GSM/CDMA antenna, the bluetooth antenna, WiFi antenna and an NFC tag/reader antenna if equipped. Plus the required hardware and shielding (in order to have the product within the permissible radiation levels). It's a complex affair.

Demanding the same accuracy in a mobile phone GPS, as in a dedicated GPS module is like wanting to drive your car at race-track speeds in city traffic while trying to listen to the climax on an audio-book and watching your fav movie - all at the same time.

Originally Posted by geeta

May be the stand alone GPS device will provide more accuracy than a mobile phone but still it can be used by those persons who don't want to spend more on a separate device.

A mobile phone with A-GPS can provide reasonably accurate positioning and navigation. Unless you need an accuracy of a few metres, a mobile phone is good enough