Navigating with Nokia Drive+ Beta on the HTC 8X (screenshot gallery)

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Nokia Drive+ Beta now available for other WP8 devices

Yesterday Mary Jo posted the news about the release of Nokia Drive+ Beta for WP8 users in the US, UK, and Canada. Nokia and Microsoft stated last year that Nokia Drive would be offered to all WP8 partners and now we are finally seeing its availability.

Nokia Drive was a feature that made Nokia Lumia devices unique, but even with it rolling out to other WP8 devices I think there are still enough innovative features of the Nokia Lumia line to stand out from others. I enjoy the HTC 8X form factor, but it was a MAJOR failure to conduct a Bing Search and then not be able to navigate to a destination. When an address appears in Bing Search results, there is a line under drive that states "use an app". Prior to this Nokia Drive release tapping this on my 8X did nothing. With Windows Phone 7, Bing Maps would at least open up and start a limited turn-by-turn method that required you to physically tap on the display to make each turn.

Offline maps are supported so with this new Nokia Drive application you can navigate without a data connection. You have the option to navigate in 2D or 3D mode.

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Nokia Drive setup display

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Choose your voice

Select the voice you want to use for voice navigation and then select to download the voice to your smartphone.

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Setup is done, now manage your maps

The maps you previously downloaded for the included Maps application also work with Nokia Drive. You can choose to download other maps for offline navigation or faster online navigation.

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Toggle between 2D or 3D mode

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Settings, page 1

There are several settings within Nokia Drive+ Beta to allow you to customize your navigation experience.

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Settings, page 2

More settings for Nokia Drive+ Beta.

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Bing Search results and option to navigate

Now when you tap on Drive in your search results, you will actually see the Nokia Drive+ Beta application open up and launch your turn-by-turn navigation experience.

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Starting a trip

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
2D mode of the trip south

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
Navigating in 3D view with Seattle landmarks

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller
You can see the Sounder train is speeding along nicely

Published: January 24, 2013 -- 13:00 GMT (05:00 PST)
Caption by: Matthew Miller

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Last year Microsoft and Nokia stated that they would bring turn-by-turn voice navigation, powered by Nokia, to all WP8 devices and yesterday that promise came true. This screenshot gallery shows how Nokia Drive+ Beta works on the HTC 8X.