Nokia n78 Saved My Holiday Trip

I wish to publicly thank Nokia, Starhub & Maxis for keeping their services alive when I really needed them during my recent short-trip to Malaysia. The GPS function works as expected when required and helped save our journey from being disrupted by fuel deficiency.

My family was already on our way back home to Singapore. We used the North-South Highway as the easiest route to take. We left Kuala Lumpur at approximately 12am and we have made plans to make a stop at Machap for a fuel refill plus toilet usage.

Unfortunately, due to adverse weather such as dark clouds and foggy atmosphere, our vision was reduced to a mere 100metres. Coupled with our sleepiness, we missed the Machap rest point. It was at this point that we realised that our fuel tank is dangerously heading towards the reserve.

We made a stop at Renggam; which offers only toilet facilities. A check with a cleaner tells us that the only petrol station available is further south at Skudai. At this point, out comes my n78 and I turned on the GPS function. We managed to locate 8 different petrol stations within the hinterland; this meant that we have to drive out of the north-south highway, into the older asphalt side where the only tall structures are trees, on a night where everything is foggy, and having the n78 as the only guide for us.

The first 4 petrol stations were closed. At this point, the fuel indicator was blinking furiously indicating that even the fuel in the reserve is running out. As I guide my brother who is driving towards the 5th one, we have this sense of trepidation that the 5th may also be closed. To our relief, it is opened and we just managed to fill up the fuel tank.

In this sense, the n78, which I have previously complained as being a little laggy, gave me the confidence to ignore the complaint and be thankful that the GPS function worked as expected. Maxis have to be thanked to for their alliance with Starhub to provide the Internet link-up for the A-GPS to work properly.