The promise of WiFi

I am just coming back from vacation. I went with my family to the country just east of us... Nice place to visit.

But the important issue for this note is the place where we stayed for one complete week offered -as every single hotel does now-, free WiFi access, which is a must if you travel by plane: searching for a place where to check-in for your flight at the very last minute is something I wouldn't want for myself.

Though the place was very nice, and there was WiFi, the signal wouldn't reach the rooms. I found that you could get a signal in the bathroom, but that's a very uncomfortable place for using a laptop...

So then, does any WiFi access qualify as WiFi access? I mean, you'd have expected WiFi access from the rooms, not just from the small lounge near the counter.

I guess next time I'll double check for room access to WiFi.

iPhone4 / N8 - maps overview

I've been saying this since I had the n95, and I still think the same: Nokia's maps solution is better because you can freely use it when roaming. You may need to wait much longer than with access to the internet, but you still can use the maps application without using a single byte of data connection. In the iPhone, instead, you depend on the internet connection, not only for AGPS but also because there is no local copy of any maps on the mobile.

In summary:

• iPhone currently needs to be always connected to the internet to make any use of the Maps application
• Nokia devices instead, using Ovi Maps, can store maps locally in the device, thus avoiding connecting to the internet.
• As it seems, the iPhone's maps are much more complete than Nokia's -- As an example, Apple has maps for Ecuador.

Then again, it's all about what you really need. I prefer trying Ovi Maps on the N8 for traveling, though I've had issues when roaming with the N97mini and the 5800xm because the GPS wouldn't find a fix in a very long time (over 1hr) without access to the internet. I finally solved it by buying SIM cards for both and buying some minutes for using the internet / calling. I hope this time the N8 will not really need internet for locating me, though I'm still going to use a local SIM card on my next travel.

iPhone4 - GYE

N8 / Ovi Maps - GYE