I did the free update to Nokia Maps 3.0 beta today. The new version seems like it has some nice improvements. The maps are much more detailed in my area. The UI is also improved, easier to use, and the POI search is actually useful now.
The update process is pretty smooth. You just grab the new version of Nokia Maps Updater and let'r rip. It will find the new version and install it, then it will delete the older maps and download and install the new ones. Note that the North American maps are almost 1.2GB so it will take quite a while. I'm on a 6 megabit cable connection and it took around an hour. Don't start this update when you are pressed for time!
Besides the gigabyte (+) the maps use up on your Micro SD card, the main application claims another 6MB of your phone's memory (I wish they would give the option of putting everything on the memory card).
Main functions like GPS position, maps, POI searching and route display are available without paying (although it uses data), but the voice guided navigation is a pay service (if you are a new 5800 owner, you should get a free 30 day license the first time you fire up Maps). You can purchase a license for a single day ($2.29), 30 days ($8.89), or a year ($63.99). There is also a "continuous subscription" for $7.39 for each 30 days, but that is much more than the yearly price, so it makes no sense.
The yearly price is decent, it works out to around $5.33 a month, which is cheaper than AT&T Navigator (unless you bundle it with the $15 data plan, and even then it's not much more). I know a lot of people think that GPS should be free, but even with a stand alone GPS you have to pay for maps. I just checked Garmin's site and they want a hundred bucks for new North American maps ($99.99), and Tom Tom wants 80 bucks ($79.95).
I haven't done much actual navigation testing with this new version yet (just installed it yesterday), so it remains to be seen if it is worth the subscription price.
Garmin Mobile XT is currently the best phone navigation solution, but it is quite expensive, and comes on a Micro SD card, which means you will have to swap out the card with your music, videos, apps and other stuff whenever you want to use it.
The advantage to Garmin is that it doesn't need to use data (to use no data you must disable the A-GPS feature, which could significantly increase the time it takes to get a satellite lock).
There are 2 free voice navigation solutions. Amaze GPS and Nav4All. Both use data, and neither is very polished. Amaze works pretty well if you stay on course, but is very slow to recalculate if you stray off the recommended route. Nav4All has an annoying habit of telling me to turn 200 yards too early, and is only free until January 2010 (after that they will start charging a subscription free). Both have terrible user interfaces, and POI searching is cumbersome and frustrating.
There is also good ol' Google Maps, but it does not give voice guidance (and uses a LOT of data).
