Nokia Drive+ Beta

 NokiA Drive+ BetA

  “users can download  entire maps with nokia  drive+ and use it offline.”


Nokia has always placed a strong emphasis on maps and navigation. In 2007, Nokia acquired Navteq, a provider of digital maps, to strengthen its mapping services. Now, with Nokia backing Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS, Nokia has also released a new mapping app called Nokia Drive+ Beta to complement its Windows Phone-powered Lumia smartphones.  Targeted at drivers, Nokia Drive+ Beta is as the name suggests, still in beta, but it shows lots of promise. First of all, Nokia Drive+ is quite unlike any of the other freeto-use GPS apps that we’ve  covered here. While Apple’s  and Google’s Map apps require  a live data connection to work  properly, users can download  entire maps with Nokia Drive+  and use it offline, much like a  standalone GPS device. Even  better, Nokia makes maps from  over 116 countries available to  download at your convenience.   Nokia Drive+ itself is a 6MB download and additional maps will vary in size. Singapore, for instance, was a 47MB download. Naturally, larger countries will require more memory; Malaysia requires 114MB, while the map of Thailand takes up 206MB of space.  Nokia Drive+ provides turn-by-turn voice navigation too, and this is enabled by downloading additional voice packs. The app has support for over 50 languages as well.  Once you’ve downloaded your desired map and voice pack, the app is ready to use. The interface is straightforward enough, but a little clumsy  Design & Features as it takes few “clicks” before you can actually search for your destination. Thankfully, Nokia Drive+ search’s function is fairly powerful and intelligent since it can automatically search  addresses, postal codes and even places of interest. What’s more, it’s pretty fast.  Navigation performance is decent even if it like  Apple’s and Google’s apps, lacks modern GPS features such as lane assists and junction view. However, Nokia Drive+ makes up for that by including 3D models of prominent buildings in its maps. Another feature which sets the Nokia Drive+ app apart from Apple and Google Maps is that it shows your traveling speed and can alert you if the speed limit is exceeded. Lastly, we found voice instructions to be clearly delivered and succinct.  We did notice that Nokia Drive+ is a little stubborn and slow to reroute should you veer off the suggested route. Many a time, it would suggest making a U-turn  even if a more straightforward alternative route was available.  Also, unlike Apple and Google’s mapping apps, you cannot manually select and navigate to points on the maps - Nokia Drive+ requires a specific address, postal code or point of interest entry. Additionally, while Apple Maps has integration with Yelp, and Google has its own Google Plus service, Nokia Drive+ stands by itself and therefore does not provide other relevant information about the destination such as reviews and contact numbers.  Nevertheless, we found Nokia Drive+ to be a sufficiently competent navigator. It might lack some features that are found on Apple’s and Google’s offering, but it makes up for that with a strong core function, which is to offer clear instructions to your destination.  On top of that, we liked that you could download whole maps of countries and regions and use the app without a live data connection. In this sense, the app works like a standalone GPS device and this is very useful especially if you are abroad and aren’t willing to shell out on expensive roaming data.

developer :  nokia
version : 2.1.0.1451
size : 6mb
plaTform : windows phone
price : free