Day: February 25, 2008

“Maps 2.0 seems to be a complete rewrite of the product and, like most things with Nokia (and indeed with the computer world in general) is a case of four steps forward and one step back. And that reverse count may be higher if you’re someone used to using the ‘free’ functions in Maps v1.x, since even basic route calculation now falls within the ‘pay-for’ domain. But I don’t think it’s fair to fault the Maps development team on this issue. They have as much right as the next programming house to try to make a profit and there were probably far too many people trying to get by on the free junction-by-junction keypress routing in v1.x and driving very dangerously as a result. With in-car navigation, voice guidance and automatic real-time route recalculation is the only way to go, if you want to stay safe.In fact, Maps 2.0 expands the remit of its navigation focus by including not only pedestrian route calculation but also a dedicated pedestrian mode, in which things work very differently. The cost, by the way, is less if you only sign up for pedestrian use, at 4 Euros for a month (say, for use on a business trip to a foreign city), and it’s also worth noting that pedestrian routing is included in the ‘drive’ routing package, i.e. by signing up for the more expensive package (8 Euros for a month), you also get help when not in your car. (Note that these prices vary according to your region and that lesser prices are available for a week’s use.)” Read more here: