N900 Videos

Ovi Maps 1.0 has been supplied with pre-release N900s, although we can’t say for sure what’s on the production models.

It’s a competent mapping application, although fairly basic. This ubergizmo video shows panning and zooming of US maps, with “over-the-air” downloading of new map tiles. The +/- buttons zoom in steps, or can be held down for rapid zooming.

Alternatively, you can press the zoom-level indicator to choose from four pre-set levels (country, state, city and street). The maps are quite readable at each level, although perhaps not quite as richly detailed as Google’s maps. Satellite and terrain view are also available, as well as a “night view” – the purpose of which isn’t clear to me.

An address panel shows the current location, and there’s a search box to jump to places of interest. A compass icon allows you to rotate the map to any orientation.

All-in-all it’s an adequate application, although many people will be waiting to see what alternatives become available.