Best offline Mapping / Drive application for Windows Phone

BlueToothKiwi

249 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

Topic # 103310 4-Jun-2012 04:08
Which Windows Phone Mapping / Drive application do you use on your Windows Phone? Are you happy with it? I am playing with my Samsung Omnia W Windows Phone and I am really missing the mapping / drive applications I was used to on my iOS devices and S60 devices. My frustration with the native Bing maps is that it seems not to have the same level of coverage as the Google Maps. It failed to find 3 out of seven places I searched for (which Google maps had no problems locating). For example I wanted to go to Te Haruhi Beach, off Bruce Harvey Drive in Whangaparaoa. Bing maps did not even return a single search result when I searched for either 'Te Haruhi Beach' or 'Bruce Harvey Drive'. I then downloaded the best rated location application, Navigation in the Microsoft Marketplace. It had a 24 hour free trial: First the app made me type the city. I tried Auckland and the place name and it did not find it. THen I tried to type Whangaparaoa for city - but the auto complete overrode the city name to the incorrectly spelt 'Whangapaoa' - and again it failed to find it! All I want is a simple offline Mapping / Drive application where I can type in the address (without specifying the city or post code) and it finds me the place and give me Drive by Drive direction.

BDFL
44266 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

Trusted

Geekzone

Subscriber

Reply # 635302 4-Jun-2012 04:16
Nokia Maps, on Nokia Lumia. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

249 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

Reply # 635312 4-Jun-2012 08:44
Unfortunately for me, I dont have a Nokia - I am stuck with the Samsung - which is good for everything apart from the mapping. Having used Nokia maps for years on my S60 device, I will gladly pay for the Nokia maps on my Windows phone. I wish Nokia would make it non exclusive and SELL it via the Market place.

249 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

Reply # 635342 4-Jun-2012 10:06
OK - I found this Gem: Bingle It is not Offline - and it is actually not bad at all. First Market Place App I bothered to rate so far... It appears to aggregate the indexes from Google and Bing and as you start typing the address it narrows down the search. Edit: Actually it says it can switch between Bing and Google - but I think it defaults to Google maps and I have not found a way to change it in Settings - not that I want to. Still - it does what I want it to do.... Much much better than the Navigation Aus and NZ which costs $60!!! Bingle is free - yes it is offline - but at least it found every addresses I searched for so far with least number of key presses and ease. But I am still looking for something better....

1244 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 635640 4-Jun-2012 20:14
BlueToothKiwi: Unfortunately for me, I dont have a Nokia - I am stuck with the Samsung - which is good for everything apart from the mapping. Having used Nokia maps for years on my S60 device, I will gladly pay for the Nokia maps on my Windows phone. I wish Nokia would make it non exclusive and SELL it via the Market place. I read somewhere that Nokia Maps will be available for devices other than Nokia phones. I'm not sure what OS's will be supported, however it would be a fairly sure bet the Windows Phone will be one of them. What will not be available on anything but Nokia phones is Nokia Drive, the turn by turn navigation app which is a brilliant app. I don't blame Nokia for keeping the Nokia Drive app to themselves, they need a point of difference to the other Windows phones. In fact I'm surprised they've even considered sharing Nokia Maps. Nokia 920 Nokia N9 Nokia E7 HP Touchpad Dell Inspiron 14z i5

1962 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 636126 5-Jun-2012 14:59
Technofreak: BlueToothKiwi: Unfortunately for me, I dont have a Nokia - I am stuck with the Samsung - which is good for everything apart from the mapping. Having used Nokia maps for years on my S60 device, I will gladly pay for the Nokia maps on my Windows phone. I wish Nokia would make it non exclusive and SELL it via the Market place. I read somewhere that Nokia Maps will be available for devices other than Nokia phones. I'm not sure what OS's will be supported, however it would be a fairly sure bet the Windows Phone will be one of them. What will not be available on anything but Nokia phones is Nokia Drive, the turn by turn navigation app which is a brilliant app. I don't blame Nokia for keeping the Nokia Drive app to themselves, they need a point of difference to the other Windows phones. In fact I'm surprised they've even considered sharing Nokia Maps. It was probably one of the things Microsoft stipulated as part of the partnership agreement. I would be unsurprised if Nokia Maps replaces Bing Maps in time on Windows Phone. Or, since Nokia actually owns one of the mapping providers (Mapteq?) if Nokia eventually replaces Bing Maps across the board in time. Still, it is a pity they don't want to make Drive available to other brands, even if by charging for it. Seeing the Lumia in shops, it's my opinion that they don't need exclusive features to sell it, the hardware quality sells itself.

573 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 636132 5-Jun-2012 15:18
Kyanar: Still, it is a pity they don't want to make Drive available to other brands, even if by charging for it. Seeing the Lumia in shops, it's my opinion that they don't need exclusive features to sell it, the hardware quality sells itself. Hardware quality is good, but a killer app is better. I have an HTC Trophy, my wife just got a Nokia 800, plus I've used the Samsung Omnia W as well. If I was to choose between the three hardware-wise, I'd be leaning towards the Omnia - it has the front-facing camera that the Nokia lacks. The Nokia & HTC have much better Wifi aerials than the Samsung though. The Drive app is really very good though - its not quite as good as a standalone Tomtom, but is already in your pocket, works offline, the maps update for free, and it costs nothing. Buying a Nokia phone (especially if you wait for the 900 with front camera) saves you $60-odd over buying an app, or >$200 over buying a separate GPS.