Nov/Dec 2003

This is the Nokia 6600 multimedia mobile phone - one of the latest models to hit UK shores - and among its array of advanced features is built-in digital mapping and location-finding software. These come courtesy of Wayfinder Systems, which has provided its Mobile MapGuide pan-European map and route guidance application. The underlying digital mapping is by Tele Atlas.

The map facility comes as standard, but you can upgrade it to a fully-fledged GPS-based navigation system by adding the Wayfinder Mobile Navigator system. This includes turn-by-turn instructions and even spoken guidance.

The 6600 itself is a tri-band mobile with an active-matrix 176 x 208 pixel TFT colour display, 6MB of internal shared memory, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP4 email support, a 640 x 480 pixel camera with 2x digital zoom and self-timer. It has Bluetooth and infra-red connectivity, an advanced XHTML browser with Java MIPD 2.0 support, and the Symbian 7.0s operating system.

Incidentally, if you're after the latest in mobile technology, you might also check out the Motorola A920 3G handset, which has built-in GPS.

 

• A range of street-level mapping for mobile phones such as the Nokia 6600 has been launched by navigation specialist TomTom. They cover 60 European cities, and include detail such as house names and numbers. Each takes up around 1MB of memory and costs $4.99. Other supported makes include Siemens, Samsung and Sendo.