Nokia Maps 2.0 in beta
Though the refresh late last year was a welcome bonus, Nokia's Maps app that gets bundled with many of its S60 devices still lags Google Maps for Mobile in several key areas -- real-time traffic and satellite view, just to name a couple. Great news, though: Nokia's been hard at work crafting its next-gen navigation client, and it looks like it's shaping up to be a real gem. The software has been seeded to a few key folks in the public domain (but isn't yet available for download to the masses) so we're starting to see some first impressions trickle in, and in short, it looks like everything's better than it was before. The auto navigation screen is clearer and uses translucency to prevent large swaths of the map from being concealed, there's a new pedestrian mode, and satellite views and traffic data are now both available. There's no word yet on when the beta or the final version might go public, so we'll all have to be satisfied with the previews for the time being.




















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
carlo2 @ Feb 9th 2008 4:58PM
I'm not especially keen on the one that came with the n95, but it definitely works well enough for me here in the U.S.
It'll be interesting to see what they do. The native apps so far are very well done.
dak @ Feb 10th 2008 12:58AM
I'm really glad to see they're doing an update. I love the nokia-developed apps, but switch between AmazeGPS, Google Maps and Nokia Maps, since all three have different strengths and weaknesses. Have had trouble reloading Nokia maps though recently...hope Nokia can fix the glitches.
AG @ Feb 12th 2008 10:37PM
I miss the text-to-speech feature on the 1.x nokia maps application. I hope thay built TTS in the new version