The Nokia Drive+ (turn-by-turn navigation app) Beta for or non-Nokia WinPhone 8 users ...
Nokia Drive+ was only available to owners of a Lumia 810, 820, 822 or 920 smartphone until Wednesday.
Nokia Drive+ features turn-by-turn voice aided navigation capabilities, but also offers the convenience of offline maps and can offer drivers speed limit warnings. Those speed limit warnings will be presented as alerts even when Drive+ is not being used for turn-by-turn navigation. Nokia Drive+ can be instructed to avoid directing users onto dirt roads and toll roads, and will automatically switch to night mode to make its screen more readable in a car's darkened interior.
Like the original version of Nokia Drive, the Drive+ app offers the users the ability to pin a common destination to their Start screen. The feature is useful for getting directions to home or work with just a tap. It’s also useful for planning trips, with it users only have to look up their destination once, and pin it to the Start screen when they’re ready to leave. In addition to day and night modes, a special dashboard mode which includes information like time to destination and speed, route settings to avoid certain types of roads and 2D and 3D landmarks to make traveling easier.
>> Beta of Nokia's turn-by-turn navigation app free for Windows Phone 8 users
Microsoft and Nokia are making Nokia's Drive+ turn-by-turn navigation app free for Windows Phone 8 users in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.
Mary Jo Foley
All About Microsoft Blog
ZDNet
January 23, 2013
tinyurl.com
Starting January 23, Microsoft and Nokia are making the beta of Nokia Drive+, which is Nokia's turn-by-turn navigation app, free for all Windows Phone 8 customers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Microsoft made the announcement on the Windows Phone blog. The beta can be downloaded from the Windows Phone Store.
I've asked Microsoft officials when the app will be available to users outside those three countries and when it will be out in final form. I've also asked whether Microsoft is paying Nokia to provide the app to users of phones other than its own Lumia devices. ... A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had nothing more to share beyond what was in the blog post [below]. So no answers to any of my questions above.
Nokia promised in June 2012 to make its Drive app available on all Windows Phone 8 handsets. This is much needed, given Microsoft removed turn-by-turn navigation from Bing Maps when it released Windows Phone 8.
Microsoft and Nokia are seeking feedback on the Drive+ beta via the app's "feedback" tab, according to the blog post.
In other Windows Phone news, Verizon announced on January 23 that it will make available the Samsung "Odyssey" ATIV Windows Phone 8 starting on January 24. The device will be available for $49.99 after rebate.
Verizon already offers a couple of Windows Phone 8 devices: The HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 822. The Samsung Odyssey is a mid-range phone. It originally was supposed to be available on Verizon in December 2012. ###
>> Nokia’s turn-by-turn app Drive+ Beta is now available on more Windows Phones
Michael Stroh (Microsoft)
Microsoft Windows Phone Blog
January 23, 2013
tinyurl.com
Starting today, Microsoft and Nokia are making the beta of Nokia Drive+, the company’s turn-by-turn navigation app, available for free to all Windows Phone 8 customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Download it from the Windows Phone Store.
The app remains in beta as the team fine tunes the customer experience. In the meantime, you can access full turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, offline maps, speed limit warnings, and conveniences such as day and night modes. With today’s release, the team is looking forward to hearing from even more Windows Phone customers through the app’s “feedback” tab, to help make it even better. Give it a try and let them know what you think. Learn more [from Nokia] about Nokia Drive+ Beta. ###
- Eric - |
