14 DAY TRIAL // One of the apps still missing from Ubuntu Touch is one that provides GPS navigation. Well, if you are an Ubuntu user that really needs this functionality, then you will be glad to know that an app called GPS Navigation is currently being developed.
Getting GPS navigation right is not an easy task. Even if developers do have access to the GPS hardware in the phone, building an application that complex takes time and a whole lot of work. It's also not among the priorities of the Ubuntu developers, but it doesn't mean that the community can't participate. In fact, many of the core apps from Ubuntu Touch are actually made by dedicated devs from the Community.
Almost any smartphone today has a GPS chip inside, and GPS navigation is taken for granted. Anyone who picks up a new Android phone, for example, will expect to get this feature, no questions asked. The Ubuntu Touch development platform is Nexus 4, but the new operating system is already present on Bq Aquaris e4.5 and Meizu MX4, both of which have GPS capabilities.
GPS Navigation is still in the works
The developer of the new app, Marcos Costales, only made it available for a few hours in the Ubuntu Store, so you won't be able to try it now. It's still pretty much work in progress, and it's not a simple RSS reader. It's an app that needs a lot of testing before making it available to a community that will use it on freeways.
"I added this screenshots to the store for future users and I changed a phrase when there is not accuracy: "Waiting GPS signal of 5 bars". I can't do more, my apologies for that, but all mobiles, even GPS devices as my first Tomtom had this problem. A recommendation is to leave the mobile near to a window ~40' or driving a few minutes for this first accuracy. I'll release GPS Navigation before the end of this month, probably in the next days," said Marcos Costales on Google+.
This is just the first application of its kind on Ubuntu, so it's very likely that more will pop up very soon.