There’s been quite a few news about Nokia recently. First we have information about a Nokia “Sabre” Windows Phone device, and next we have Nokia “Ace”. Today Long Zheng from iStartedSomething noticed a private marketplace listing for the official Nokia Maps app on the Windows Phone marketplace. Here’s a description of the app:
Nokia Maps helps you to be a local anywhere you go. See where you are and discover places nearby in a snap. Get reviews, uncover new destinations and reach them with smart routing for public transport, walking and driving.
While the app cannot be installed (nor is it functional at the moment, according to reports), we can see some of its functionalities through the screenshots published in the marketplace:
In the first screenshot, you can see “smart routing for public transport” in action, something the built-in Bing Maps app doesn’t offer at the moment. In the subsequent series of screenshots, you can see Nokia Maps features some great localised information such as finding a restaurant in downtown London. The app lets you check out reviews and photos about the places, and you can even upload your own photo to contribute to the localised database.
According to Long, the app supports the full 22 locales that Windows Phone Mango supports, meaning that the app should be available for all – or at the very least those with one of those upcoming Nokia Windows Phones. With the Nokia-Microsoft deal covering mapping technologies, one would hope that Microsoft would integrate this into Bing Maps, which would benefit us all.