Frequently Asked Questions: Maps on Windows Phone 8

Published by Pino Bonetti on October 31, 2012

Compass

With Windows Phone 8 officially introduced last Monday and the first smartphones based on this platform being shipped or reviewed, it’s time to have a quick overview of its location-based apps and experiences.

As you may already know, Nokia is delivering the backbone for all location experiences on Windows Phone 8 and offering Nokia Drive to all Windows Phone 8 partners, empowering this new OS with voice guided turn-by-turn car navigation.

Since we made these announcements, some legitimate questions have been asked on Twitter, on this blog and in the first reviews of Windows Phone 8. I would therefore like to summarize them and provide some clarification.

What does it mean that the Nokia Location Platform is powering the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem?

It basically means that location-based apps for Windows Phone 8 developed by Nokia (e.g. Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia City Lens and Nokia Transport), apps developed by Microsoft (e.g. Bing Maps) and apps by any other developer make use of basic functionalities provided by Nokia.

It also means that some features like offline maps are now completely embedded into Windows Phone 8. You can find this option in your smartphone settings.

WIndows Phone 8 Start Screen Windows Phone 8 Settings

Is Nokia Maps on all Windows Phone 8 smartphones?

The Nokia Location Platform is powering the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem, not Nokia Maps, which is an app. On non-Nokia Windows Phone 8 smartphones, the default mapping application is Windows Phone Maps. This is running on top of our map data. It is using our geocoding, our traffic information and our routes, but it’s ultimately developed by Windows Phone, with a custom UI, search and POI database.

Where is turn-by-turn navigation?

Nokia Drive is the application that provides voice-guided turn-by-turn car navigation on Nokia smartphones and with Windows Phone 8 it’s also being made available to other manufacturers. Nokia Drive has been rewritten from the ground up specifically for Windows Phone 8, to leverage the power of this OS and offering new features.

We are currently testing it and a beta version will be made available very soon. On a Nokia smartphone like Nokia Lumia 920, you will find a tile on the start screen that will take you to the Windows Phone Store to download Nokia Drive Beta. Other manufacturers and Microsoft will decide in which countries and on which devices Nokia Drive will be offered to their customers.

You will be very pleased to know that some of the features you have requested the most, spoken street names and route planning options to avoid toll roads, ferries, etc., have been included in this release. However, while currently in beta, Nokia Drive for Windows Phone 8 won’t support My Commute just yet and we strongly suggest you to make use of the offline maps to enjoy your travels.

What’s new in Nokia Maps for Windows Phone 8?

On Nokia smartphones with Windows Phone 8, the default mapping application is Nokia Maps. We’ve been working hard during the past few months to develop a great new release specifically for Windows Phone 8. In a previous blog post I’ve explained all the features we are including in Nokia Maps for Windows Phone 8 or currently working on.

While the first version of Nokia Maps for Windows Phone 8 was being preinstalled on our newest smartphones (v 2.9), we were already working on an update with even more features. This is why, when you first start your new Nokia smartphone with Windows Phone 8, we encourage you to immediately update Nokia Maps and enjoy all the latest features (v 3.0).

In a nutshell, you won’t only be able to use offline maps but also offline search and routing, also for public transport. You can use turn-by-turn walk navigation or start Nokia Drive to get voice-guided, turn-by-turn car navigation. Last but not least, you will also find your way indoors with the support of venue maps in almost 18,000 buildings in 40 countries (and counting).

‘Nokia Maps offers the most advanced mobile maps offering to consumers today with largest global coverage, highest quality mapping data and true offline availability’ said Francisco Jeronimo, Research Manager, European Mobile Devices, IDC.

Nokia Maps Starbucks in Manhattan Nokia Maps Navigation

What’s new in Nokia Transport for Windows Phone 8?

Nokia Transport (aka Nokia Transit in North America) has also been updated with great new features. Just like Nokia Maps, we started working on a new version of Nokia Transport immediately after preinstalling it on the Nokia smartphones with Windows Phone 8. This is why you will find an update in the Windows Phone Store in coming days.

With the new version of Nokia Transport for Windows Phone 8, automatic over-the-air updates help ensure you have the latest information on schedules and routes as well as on newly supported cities. You can now get a combined segment map and detail view to orient yourself at a glance: just tap or swipe a specific segment of your journey to expand an intuitive map and detail view that easily lets you see where you are and where you need to be.

New display settings will give you the options to select miles or kilometers, the time of departure or the time you have until the next departure and plan ahead by setting time and date of your journey. From Nokia Transport, you can now also launch the turn-by-turn walk navigation provided by Nokia Maps to get to the next stop or to your final destination. The search history has also been redesigned to be easier to use and to support entries management. For example, you can now manually delete previous searches and keep the history tidier.

Nokia Transport Overview

What is Nokia City Lens?

Nokia City Lens turns sight into the next interface for searching the world around you. The app provides information about each building or landmark in the area, giving people an at-a-glance understanding of what restaurants, museums, shops and others places of interest are nearby. Seeing a place of interest through augmented reality provides a wealth of information not available with the naked eye, allowing you to see the world around you using your smartphone instead of having to perform web searches.

The technology powering Nokia City Lens is particularly advanced and accurate. We are capturing real world dimension, fueling more realistic and interactive experiences. It’s like having X-ray vision, revealing hidden spots you might otherwise miss.

Nokia City Lens comes preinstalled on Nokia smartphones with Windows Phone 8 and we are already busy working on the next release, which you can learn more in this previous blog post.

Image credit: Walt Stoneburner

Comments

http://twitter.com/kps91 Kunwar Preet Singh

will the turn by turn WALK navigation be voice guided or not?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  For this release of Nokia Maps, the walk navigation is not voice guided yet
mart

“You will be very pleased to know that one of the features you have
requested the most, route planning options to avoid toll roads, ferries,
etc., has been included in this release.”

And for WP7? We’ve been requesting this for ages, and here it is. Oh, I must buy a new phone… Thanks very much…
C38S

Just 2 quick questions for WP8 maps

1) Do favorite locations and routes from web maps sync to maps?

2) What location / route sharing features are there from the phone?
Thanks a million for the great maps guys!
111san

Hi Pino, Ive had this question for a while now…with windows phone suspending apps when you move away from an app, is there any chance that the voice guided navigation on nokia drive will continue to work in the background even if I – say open some pandora app to change the music station or open the browser to search for something? Or will I have to be IN the nokia drive app to receive the instructions?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @111san:disqus with Nokia Drive for Windows Phone 8 it’s possible to switch among apps while the navigation is running in the background. Voice guidance will continue also if you are listening to music but will stop while you are taking a call.
http://twitter.com/storeygraham graham storey

Pino

Has development of Drive been abandoned for earlier Lumias ?

A straight answer please, as to what can be expected. All the features you have mentioned above have been requested for early Lumias since their launch.

If you reply please bear in mind that I’m still waiting for a firmware update to make my old N97 usable, also the web browser developed in Qt for my N8 and the rest of the things promised for it by Jo Harlow.

I had to use Gmaps on a lumia 710 today when I was lost in Newcastle, My posistion and direction was clearer than on Nokia maps or Bing.

I suggest you take a look at Navigon in the market before saying that it is only possibe on wp8 they managed and I think I would rather pay for that as buy another Nokia.
http://twitter.com/Alvetica Al Pavangkanan

Does Nokia Drive support turn by turn directions with street names?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @twitter-14066405:disqus text-to-speech is not available just yet but will be included in a future release
  - http://twitter.com/EShy EShy
    
    on my lumia 920 it works
    - http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
      
      Hi @twitter-14066405:disqus indeed @twitter-3033901:disqus is right, we have included spoken street names already in this release. I’m going to update the blog post accordingly.
- http://twitter.com/EShy EShy
  
  Actually, the WP8 beta does support it, you just need to download the voice that says “announced street names”
dhavalpatel

I am an engineer who has to go out to different locations. Currently Nokia Drive does not support coordinates input for navigation. It would really be helpful to be able to input destination using coordinates. That would be the biggest benefit for somebody like me who has to drive to different locations and search the roads where the cell phone coverage is at the best sketchy.
- http://www.facebook.com/hawknz Eugene Hawkins
  
  that’s a good point. Nokia Symbian Maps have co-ordinate searching not the Lumia. I wish they can make searching for addresses easier on Lumia as well.
  - http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
    
    Hi @dhavalpatel:disqus and @facebook-630822336:disqus we appreciate your feedback, which is going to be carefully taken in consideration by the Nokia Drive team.
    - Safiudeen
      
      Destination can be selected only by searching the locations available in
      places or from the favorites in the current version of Nokia Drive in WP8
      The
      above method is very much inconvenient when it comes to custom places on the map
      which migh not be listed under places. Therefore it is very important to have an
      option to set the destination just pressing on the map or inputting the
      coordinates.
      One other issue is that , we are not able to save a place to
      favorites by just clicking on the map when the GPS is on. Every time it save the
      current location.
      Another important point is that we cannot read the
      coordinate information or share the coordinate information with others by SMS or
      any other means.
      We hope Nokia drive for WP8 will come with the some smart
      features which were already available in Symbian version such as 1. Setting the
      destination or saving a favorites by inputting coordinates, 2. A poup menu
      option on the map to select “drive to”, “save to favorite”, “display coordinate”
      “send coordinate by SMS, etc.
      - http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
        
        Thank you @safiudeen:disqus I will forward also your suggestions to the Nokia Drive team
http://twitter.com/mohdadrian Mohd Adrian Mohd Ras

Can you share locations with non windows phones easily? Also interested in question if navigation continues when switching apps eg music. Tks!
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @twitter-144519180:disqus you can share places with your friends already now by using Nokia Maps. It works via text message, email and social networks and with all the most recent OS.
Vatsal

Its nice to know that Nokia is providing Mapping technology to windows phone 8, but i wanted to know will this affect on popularity of Nokia’s Lumia series? I am a Nokia FAN and I want my nokia phone to stand out up and different from the other Windows phone devices.
- TeckDevil
  
  I read somewhere that there will be certain features in Maps and Drive which will still remain Lumia Exclusive. Other phones won’t be able to provide an experience that Lumia can provide.
  - http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
    
    Hi @disqus_eh2J2hcP6H:disqus and @TeckDevil:disqus you can find more info here: http://conversations.nokia.com/?p=86580
http://twitter.com/AhmedVorajee Ahmed Vorajee

love the update feature on maps
http://twitter.com/zeer707 Fareez Akmal

more reasons to buy Samsung Ativ S or HTC 8X :D

Btw, this is a sarcastic comment if you dont understand what i mean.
http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

Hi @martj:disqus and @twitter-103927549:disqus

we have not stopped developing for Windows Phone 7.5. This blog post was meant to give an overview of what’s available and coming for Windows Phone 8, which is why I didn’t mention anything for your smartphones.

You will know more in the coming weeks about other apps, but right now we have for instance a new beta of Nokia Transport http://conversations.nokia.com/?p=98887
worldgoingmad

Hi – great new features! I do have one question, which I actually asked earlier. I think Compass Mode on maps is a vital feature. It worked brilliantly on my old N97, and is a much appreciated feature on Google Maps.
You previously mentioned that it would be included in the current version of Maps for WP8 – but it isn’t being mentioned anywhere. Can you confirm this? Thanks.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @worldgoingmad:disqus on Nokia Maps for Windows Phone 8 in walk navigation mode, the map will automatically orientate in the direction you have to walk. But the compass feature will be introduced in a later release.
  - Steven Azari
    
    that’s great, I just got the 920 from 3G and to see my indicator didn’t tell me which way I was facing – upgrading from a 4 year old phone felt like a bit of a let down
C38S

I don’t use maps on Windows Phone, I use it on Symbian. But a suggestion, are your maps on your phone up to date?
http://twitter.com/AhmedVorajee Ahmed Vorajee

hi , The venue maps – will you be able to navigate indoors, that is will it lead you to your destination inside the building?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @twitter-424113023:disqus currently the navigation will stop just before you enter the venue. It will guide you to the most convenient entrance for the place you want to go but it won’t guide you inside. This is something we are still working on.
http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

Hi @twitter-20631807:disqus , @C38S:disqus may be right. Please make sure you have the latest maps by downloading the latest release of Nokia Drive. Additionally, please consider that you may experience slightly different routes if calculated in online or offline mode.
Chris

Will nokia city lens finally work in the Southern hemisphere and not be all backwards ?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @disqus_NM0eN7xsiy:disqus Nokia City Lens for Windows Phone 8 works perfectly anywhere we have POI to show.
Alex

Will Windows 8 tablets also be able to use maps offline?
- http://twitter.com/EShy EShy
  
  Windows 8 doesn’t use Nokia maps, only Windows Phone 8
  - Rajavelu
    
    no.. it uses bing maps powered by nokia
    - http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
      
      Hi guys, I want to clarify a bit here. While the Nokia Location Platform is part of the Windows Phone 8 OS (providing e.g. offline maps or API for developers), it is only the backbone for the maps app on Windows 8 (like @rajavelu:disqus said). If you want to better understand the difference between Nokia Maps and the Nokia Location Platform, please read the 2nd section of http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/06/29/how-nokia-will-differentiate-with-location-based-services/
      - Rajavelu
        
        Thanks @haikus:disqus. Happy vacation!
http://twitter.com/EShy EShy

There are still missing maps, which makes Nokia Drive and Nokia Maps useless for many people
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @twitter-3033901:disqus Nokia Maps is available for almost 200 countries, Nokia Drive for over 100 (by far the largest number of navigable countries on any ecosystem). We are of course working on extending the coverage to the few countries missing from the list.
  - http://twitter.com/EShy EShy
    
    I’m enjoying it in the US, but since this phone is now officially launching in Israel I hope to see maps available when it does
http://www.facebook.com/nik.groover Nik Groover

Has windows phone 8 and Nokia fixed the issue with Nokia Drive and bluetooth? Nokia drive does not use the phone bluetooth profile to send voice turn-by-turn directions. This means that listening to a cd while having the directions play thru the car audio system is not possible.
This is a major problem for me. It means that I have to have the car audio set to bluetooth-music as a source to hear the turn-by-turn directions. This eliminates being able to hear the radio in the car.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-100004612602880:disqus this behavior strongly depends on the bluetooth accessory you are using. Our suggestion is for you to use the smartphone as source for both music and navigation, if that is an option for you.
markcr

Hi Pino,
Read this post and the earlier post on differentiating Nokia from other phones. I was hoping you can post some specifics on how Nokia Drive (for non-Nokia WP8), will differ from Nokia Drive+ (for Nokia phones). Will traffic, offline maps, voice navigation all work on Drive for non-Nokia phones? what features will Drive+ add?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @disqus_ErN4w7KibR:disqus you will know soon how Nokia Drive for other Windows Phone 8 smartphones will look like.
MB Online

As for Nokia Transport, it wasn’t clear for me from the post (“In a nutshell, you won’t only be able to use offline maps but also offline search and routing, also for public transport”): is Nokia Transport going to be offline or not?
Transport for me is exactly the app (beside Drive & Maps) where offline usage would be needed. You don’t normally want to use it in your hometown, rather when you are making a trip abroad (for a European that is, mostly) to save on roaming data costs.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @google-2f657ba95a55c40e3e21ef44c4466efd:disqus lane assistance is definitively a feature we would like to port from Symbian to Windows Phone as soon as possible. You will know on this blog when this is going to happen.
  As per Nokia Transport, you will be able to use the offline maps stored on the smartphone. But the timetable information have to be requested online. It’s not a pure offline experience but at least you don’t have to transfer the data for the map.
MB Online

Also, another very handy feature used to be lane assistance, available on Symbian and Meego as well. Is this arriving anytime to Nokia Drive or Drive+ for Lumia?
MB Online

On the positive side: really good job with catching up to the old experience. Linking Drive and Maps, so that you can now start navigation to your favorites synchronised in Maps is a much-awaited feature and so is the option to avoid e.g. toll roads.
Paul

Steve Ballmer should insist that Nokia Drive also delivers a turn by turn map of Israël. I own a Windows Phone 7.5 but can’t use it for navigation in Israel because Nokia Maps doesn’t have the map of Israel. I think Israel is an outstanding IT player in this world so why can’t Nokia deliver on this one.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @disqus_VJhoei0T7L:disqus we are in the process of creating high quality navigable maps for Israel, stay tuned to know when this is going to happen.
  - Paul
    
    Hello Pino, Thanks for your reply. Sounds promising. I’am really looking forward to use my Nokia phone when I’am abroad in Israel.
http://www.facebook.com/LAwildOne Jake Gamlieli

I was just looking at the Lumina 920 at the AT&T store. Love the phone. One question is this: when I click the windows search button and use local scout to bring up the list of restaurants near me. I can then click on one and then in the restaurant screen there is an option to get driving directions…this invokes Nokia Drive + which is great. However, when if I just click on the address in the restaurant screen, I am brought to the maps, which is the expected behavior…from there though if I click on the navigation arrow to invoke driving directions it does NOT invoke Nokia drive. Instead I get the old Bing map driving directions WITHOUT the voice navigation. This inconsistency takes a little the shine off a great phone with a great mapping experience. Will this be fixed soon? I haven’t had a chance to test address links in my contacts hub, or say an address link in an email if the same behavior is exhibited , but sadly I suspect it will be so. Please fix this
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-598708966:disqus thanks for your feedback. We are working closely together with Microsoft to fix these inconsistencies. Stay tuned!
Sean Roulo

I want to be able to just talk to the phone like with my android…
“Navigate to store xyz” and have it just pull up turn by turn directions without me having to click a bunch of stuff can this do it? Please tell me yes.
http://www.facebook.com/eli.goldberg Eli Goldberg

Hi there, I went to buy a Nokia 920 in the U.S., but (contrary to your article), it had Bing Maps as the default, rather than Nokia Maps.

As in, when I tapped on addresses in the browser or in People, it took me to Bing Maps.

So I didn’t buy one, since I am not willing to copy and paste an address by hand each time I need to take a train or bus.

Is this the expected behavior? I’ve spent an hour searching and can’t find a fix.

Thanks!

Eli
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-10737821:disqus this is unfortunately the current behavior, yes. We are aware that it’s not optimal and we are working closely with Microsoft to allow the People hub and Bing search to connect to Nokia Maps.
  A quick fix is using tiles to pin to your start screen the addresses in Nokia Maps or Nokia Transport you are traveling to the most.
  - http://www.facebook.com/eli.goldberg Eli Goldberg
    
    Thank you, Pino, So sorry to hear that.
    
    I have ordered a Nexus 4 and will switch back to Windows Phone when I can use Nokia Maps/Transit exclusively. ;-(
http://www.facebook.com/jim.wolf.7121 Jim Wolf

I completely agree with Jake Gamlieli about the voice input to an address on the new 920. I just upgraded from a Samsung phone 7.5 and was disappointed I cant just speak an address into drive or maps and that the general search takes you to the old voiceless nav.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-100000451183492:disqus as I mentioned above we are working closely with Microsoft to fix inconsistencies and voice search is also one of the features we are considering for future releases of Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive.
Alex

Is there a way to load my own custom Points of Interest?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @disqus_JLq82Hr5wB:disqus not yet but we are consider this feature for future releases.
http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

Hi @disqus_9r96JZaFCU:disqus thanks for your positive feedback. On a mobile we think that 3D data can be used in a much more advanced way than for pretty flyovers. In fact our 3D technology is at the foundation of Nokia City Lens: http://conversations.nokia.com/?p=101006
http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

Thank you @twitter-20631807:disqus for your precise feedback, we will look into it.
Scott McInnis

These updates are great. The only thing it’s missing on my new Lumia 920 is support for turn by turn directions over a Bluetooth headset. That’s a HUGE feature when on a motorcycle. In windows phone 7.5 Bing maps could do this, hopefully it’s a feature that can be added!
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @google-0a019f6f4060fb81d50ecc792d351400:disqus Nokia Drive already supports voice guidance over BT, the results are however strongly connected to the accessory you are using. In our tests, the best results are provided when BT is active on the audio channel.
Faisal Quadri

I have a lumia 920 – i tried to listen to an audiobook and navigate at the same time. The volume is twice as loud for the navigation instructions as the audiobook… same for any music. Is this something i can set somewhere?? Makes it unusable. Also, when will traffic be taken into account when routing fastest? My google device routes based on traffic which can save me a lot of time.. the nokia doesn’t reflect traffic at all – it’ll just show time to destination as a non-traffic based calculation.

I really really really want to keep my nokia lumia 920 – but being able to use it for multiple purposes (music, driving, etc) is really important.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @google-dc753f2f2023113de6ef35887e7360e9:disqus we will look into the volume issue, thanks for letting us know.
  Traffic routes are calculated with the My Commute feature, which is currently not available for your Nokia Lumia 920 just yet.
Cyberjudas

Please add the features that I am accustomed to with EVERY smart phone in the past 8 years. This is a huge step backwards. I am really shocked at Nokia, Microsoft and NAVTEQ. This is the most awkward app conglomerate to use. Just a mash-up of half finished apps. (1. No natural integration with the search button, Search hub. (2. Must copy and paste from said hub to app.

(3. No voice search IN THE APP ITSELF !

(4. No “street view”

(5. In accurate map data. ( My home address is even wrong in the New York Metropolitan area)

I could go on but I will cut it here. Coming from apple and android and even Bing maps I am Very Disappointed and so are thousands of others. I Have already posted to Microsoft feature requests these issues. I now have 30 days to see if this stuff gets fixed or return another windows product because of another bad business partnership deal at the expense of the end user. I seriously hope you fix these shortcomings ASAP as this should never have been done so close to release when they clearly were not finished .
RobEubanks

Will Drive or Maps ever take into account traffic when routing? I don’t want traffic incident notifications per se. I want it to find me the fastest route including current traffic conditions and to reroute automatically if new traffic problems appear on the route. This can be done (Navigon on my iPad). Will the upcoming Commute feature address this only for the route from home to work or will it apply traffic levels to all route planning?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @RobEubanks:disqus this is part of the My Commute feature which will be introduced anytime soon. You will be able to set up all the commutes you want: work, kids’ school, grocery store…
  - RobEubanks
    
    That sounds great, but I’m a little confused by the term “commutes”. That implies repetitive, preset destinations. I’d like to know if Drive will take into account current traffic conditions for all routing, or if it will only apply when “commute” destinations are set up. I just want to know that every time I use Drive, no matter where I’m going, it’s going to try to avoid traffic and find the fastest route without setting up a special commute.
    - http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
      
      Hi @RobEubanks:disqus we take into account all the destinations you are driving to for at least 2 times. A re-routing based on traffic conditions in all other cases is not available at the moment.
      - Bart
        
        That’s a bummer. So Nokia Drive cannot replace my Tomtom with HD traffic after all.
Bona

I used Nokia Drive for the first time a few days ago. I know many people like to have the direction they are traveling as “up” on the display but this gets me completely lost, I get to my destination but don’t have a sense of which way is north or where I am in a city. I would like to be able to set North as up on my phone and if for instance I am traveling SouthWest, put my current location in the upper right quadrant of the screen. We have a dedicated GPS that can be configured to always show North as up on the map but is always puts our current location in the center of the screen. I would like to have say 10% of the map show where I came from and 90% show where I am going. Is this currently possible?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @disqus_ii0jUbTCPZ:disqus our user testing and years of experience have told us that the current Nokia Drive behavior is the one expected by most people. However, I see your point and I will let the team know.
  - Bona
    
    I would like to be able to click the compass icon to toggle it between showing “Up” as north with my travel direction shown as if I was looking at a paper map or showing “Up” as the direction I am traveling with the compass pointing to north.
austin thorpey

how do you turn maps off when finished?!?!?!? SO frustrating its not obvious on how to exit. I am almost ready to install the map, because I dont want it running after its finished!
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @google-975788e42e092a0162e1e95e156520f3:disqus as with all Windows Phone apps, please press the back button to quit. Another, more drastic, way to exit is by removing Nokia Drive from the list of apps allowed to run in background. You can do this in settings > applications > background tasks.
http://twitter.com/jirigajda Jiri Gajda

Hello Pino

It has not
been long since Nokia announced Nokia Lumia 620. As I am quite interested in
buying this device next year (Micro SD available, Win 8) I have a few
questions. I have always justified Nokia and I am a big Nokia fan, but
unfortunately I had to get rid of my Nokia Lumia 710 as it missed some features
I needed. I am highly interested in Nokia Maps (or Drive or what its name is).
I use the maps available with Nokia C5-00 (Symbian) and I am very happy with
the app. I want to ask whether:

- Nokia Maps (Drive) has/will have a turn-by-turn voice navigation for pedestrians
(walk navigation);

- Nokia Maps (Drive) has/will have its voice navigation telling: “Turn Left towards Berlin” or only “Turn left) at important juncitions and exits from highways/motorways/expressways…

- users can/will be able to choose “the fasttest/shortest/optimum journey”, “toll/toll free journey”, etc.

Thank you very much for your time answering
this question.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @twitter-329117185:disqus I’m going to be super quick in my answer: yes, all the features you have requested are already available in Nokia Maps (walk navigation, soon also voice-guided) and Nokia Drive (car navigation with spoken street names and route options). Have fun with your new Nokia Lumia 620
  - http://www.facebook.com/jiri.gajda.3 Jiří Gajda
    
    Thank you very much. I am going to by my new Nokia Lumia 620 as soon as possible (i.e. as soon as it is released for either the Czech Republic, or Germany.
http://twitter.com/jamesdax James Matthews

Will Nokia Transit ever be released for non Nokia Windows Phones? And if not will Bing Maps at least get Transit data?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @twitter-91830482:disqus we haven’t made any announcement about Nokia Transit on other WP8 smartphones. And regarding transit data on Bing Maps, you should contact the Windows Phone team.
Minstral

Just got my Lumia 820 which is an amazing phone and using the new WP8 versions of the software and totally loving it.

One minor niggle – Transit still misses the Overground and National Rail in London which I use daily – any news on updates yet?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Thank you for your feedback @Minstral:disqus we are continuously updating our Nokia Transport app to cover more transport agencies or cities.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Orion-Evony/100001847691417 Orion DeEvo

I dont want Nokia drives turn by turn interruption of my music every 5 seconds. I want Bings tap by turn navigation. Please bring it back so I can purchase a wp8.
- http://twitter.com/IcyBlueberry Lei S. Wang
  
  I have the same suggestion here. Android can separate audio outputs: one stay with the phone speaker, another connected with Bluetooth.
  
  It would be ideal that the Nokia drives voice stays with the phone speaker where only the driver need to hear, while Music from the phone to Bluetooth connection without interruption!
http://www.facebook.com/jiri.gajda.3 Jiří Gajda

Hello. I have just bought my Lumia 820. Amazing phone, but I would like to know whether Nokia Drive+ will have the voice navigation with street names for the Czech language (I think only English with street names is available). Thank you.
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-1585050655:disqus I’m glad you are enjoying your Nokia Lumia 820. I love it too.
  Spoken street names are available also in other languages such as German, French, Spanish and Italian, but at the moment it’s not available in Czech. To be honest, I still prefer the voices without spoken street names because they are more natural.
http://www.facebook.com/rubicus Afana Midzic

I have a question… I got my new Nokia Lumia 920 and I downloaded the Nokia drive + app and also downloaded some maps that I need. when I go to the app it shows where I am and when I want the navigation it asks me put in my destination. for example, I needed to travel from sarajevo to skopje. when I put in my destination, it founds skopje on the map but then it says that the navigation is not available for my country? what does that mean? how come I have the maps for the country but not the possibility to navigate?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-1141838088:disqus we have maps for nearly 200 countries but around 100 of them are navigable. Indeed, it takes more time and more resources to create turn-by-turn instructions. Although we have navigation in Bosnia&Herzegovina and in Macedonia, we currently don’t have navigation enabled for Serbia and Kosovo which are in your way from Sarajevo to Skopje. We are working on it, though: in the next months they will be navigable too.
http://www.facebook.com/jiri.gajda.3 Jiří Gajda

Thank you, Pino. I have not bought Nokia Lumia 620, but 820. It is perfect and I have to admit that Nokia has made huge progress (from the Maps available on Nokia Lumia 710). Thank you. NOKIA ROCKS!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1549400458 John Brown

Just started with Nokia Drive+ Beta on the Lumia 620 and Ford Audio. Generally a good app but would like to be able to listen to the radio at the same time as having turn by turn voice directions. At the moment I can only hear these directions if connected through bluetooth music.

Are there any plans to change this so that it would be possible to hear directions through the phone speaker or bluetooth voice the same way as the phone?

Also is there any way to enter ‘vias’ as it doesn’t appear to be so at the moment?
- http://twitter.com/haikus Pino
  
  Hi @facebook-1549400458:disqus the behavior you are describing depends on the bluetooth accessory you are using. We are currently testing many of them, but the best solution is to use your smartphone for both music and navigation.
  In a next release we might add the possibility to plan a route with waypoints.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1549400458 John Brown
    
    Thanks Pino, Nokia Drive does indeed work fine when using the 620 with the in car Ford Audio for both music and navigation as you say. I would, however, like to be able to listen to the in car radio and navigate hence the question about routing voice directions through the phone speaker rather than bluetooth. Maybe its a pity that the 620 doesn’t have FM Radio :)
    
    Waypoints would be great.
http://www.facebook.com/adrian.mcquinn Adrian Mc Quinn

hi i recently bought a 820 which i love, but am wondering why i can’t seem to choose when to avoid the motorways when driving, this seems a pretty basic option to be omitted? also was driving to a job site recently and my phone got us completly lost, luckly my work colleague had a android phone with more detailed maps and better satellite images…..was pretty sickened if i’m honest, bought my nokia windows phone on the supposed strenght of its mapping. thanks

Frequently Asked Questions: Maps on Windows Phone 8

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