Nokia Maps v3.08 has landed on the Beta Labs and with this version most likely to become a full commercial release we thought it time to check it out on our Nokia N8. With a whole new look and feel, as well as new Drive features, it's only proper we take Nokia Maps 3.08 for a test review.
As soon as you fire up Nokia Maps 3.08 you know big things are afoot. For starters, rather than dropping into the old menu system, now you're straight into the mapping tool itself. What's more, the whole speed of startup has been drastically improved, as we found very little lag with loading or running the app.
Nokia Maps 3.08 Beta: five reasons to start your engines
This means that with Nokia Maps 3.08 you can start using the mapping and directional tools, which after all is what we use the app for, quicker and easier. It's almost like having a brand new app on your Nokia N8.
If you're worried that Nokia Maps has lost some of its functionality, don't worry as the additional features may have gone from the startup screen but now appear as individual apps in their own right: Drive, Guides, Check-in. The three are grouped together, so when you come to add them to your Homescreen simply choose the Maps option and all three populate the widget.
With Nokia Maps 3.08 opening up straight onto the mapping tool you'll find other features have been tucked away in the Search button, in the bottom left-hand corner. Tap this and Search, Points of Interest and Favourites pop up. These three tabs run along the top of the screen so switching between them is easy. You can search in a number of ways, tap in a postcode, address or landmark, for example and as you type you'll find the app starts searching for more likely results, which speeds up no end.
Checking out local landmarks is also amazing quick, tap on any of the categories, such and Eat & Drink, Going Out, of Sights & Museums and a list of locations in proximity to you is immediately pulled up from online. We were surprised at how fast this all works, it really does feel like a breath of fresh air has hit Nokia Maps.
It's worth bearing in mind this is still a Beta version of the software, so if you spot any issues, let the guys at Beta Labs know so they can look into getting it corrected.
Nokia Maps 3.08 Drive on you Nokia N8
When you fire up the Drive app you'll find that three large buttons pop up, allowing you to Set Destination, Drive Home, Just Drive. The big change with Set Destination is that you can now add a postcode directly from your Contacts, ideal for a business user or someone visiting friends for the first-time.
The Search function works quickly and even the History has come in for something of a tweak, as you can now delete History, something that wasn't an option in the previous version of Drive. Perhaps the biggest new feature in Nokia Maps 3.08 Drive comes in the form of the Traffic Information, which is active by default. It works by highlighting the traffic flow in the way you going, with the deeper red the line the more traffic you can expect. This is great as it means you can plan to avoid trouble spots before you find yourself in them.
This feature is limited to just the US, UK, Germany, France and Russia at the moment but it's expected that Nokia will roll out more countries in due course.
When you're driving you can choose to opt for a 3D mode of driving, or a flatter 2D version. This is done from the options menu, which is a tap away and also allows you to switch Traffic on/off, set the volume of in-car navigation and even set the destination.
Nokia Maps 3.08 is a great step forward and feels far more intuitive and quicker than previous versions. Nokia is clearly doing some amazing stuff with mapping right now and if you've not already checked the app out, get your hands on it from Beta Labs.
Check out our Nokia Maps 3.08 review on Nokia N8 photo gallery:
