Nokia Maps / No Bing Maps - Major Funtionality Loss

jemwp

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I love my Lumia 920 (upgraded from a Lumia 900), but the lack of Bing Maps and being forced to use Nokia Maps is a major letdown. In Bing Maps, after you find a location, you have the option of going to an Apps screen, where you can launch a third party app based on your selection. For example, you can look up a restaurant and then go get reviews via the Yelp app, make a reservation via the Open Table app, get subway directions via the Nokia Transit app. This was an awesome feature and now it's just not an option. Nokia Maps doesn't even integrate with Nokia Transit, so you have to go into each app separately and start your search from scratch.

The only way to get the old functionality is to use Local Scout to find a restaurant. From there, you have options like Reserve using Open Table, etc. The problem with this is that you can't set favorites, so if you have places you go to often, you're out of luck. I used to zip around on my 900 and I feel like this is a major step backwards.

Does anyone know of a way to get back the old maps? I tried uninstalling Nokia Maps, but this doesn't help.
 

jhoff80

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Stupidly though, if you search for a place with the Search button, or use Local Scout, and then press on the address to get directions, you're still brought into Bing Maps, which has a different interface and different functionality from Nokia Maps.

I mean, if you're going to replace Bing Maps throughout (which as mentioned above, might bother some people anyway), at the very least you need to be CONSISTENT about it.
 

Landsharkk

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I agree, they should include an option to choose your default map app, either Bing or Nokia, so that the search button will default to one or the other.
 

jemwp

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Yes, using Local Scout does give you the same functionality. The problem with this is you have to manually search and find the place you're looking for again. In the previous version, I would save favorite places all the time and then I could easily book a reservation or get transit directions by choosing the place off my favorites list. If you're searching for a place that has a lot of locations, this quickly becomes a major pain in the butt. Even if it's a single location, not being able to use favorites is just slower and less convenient than the old setup.

The only option I can see at the moment is to search in local scout and then pin the location to the start screen. This gives you direct access, but there's no label of any kind, so you not only clutter your start screen, but cannot differentiate between multiple places.
 

Landsharkk

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Question: Where is the Scout app on the phone? I removed the tile from the start screen, but can't find the app in my app list.

Is Scout basically the 'search' button? Or is it a separate app?
 

jemwp

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Yeah, Local Scout is part of the search. If you hit Search, then click the Local Scout icon on the bottom left, then pull up the bottom menu, you'll see Pin To Start. This will get Scout back on your start screen.
 

jhoff80

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Question: Where is the Scout app on the phone? I removed the tile from the start screen, but can't find the app in my app list.

Is Scout basically the 'search' button? Or is it a separate app?

You can get it directly from a tile if that's pinned, or press the Search button and there's an icon at the bottom that looks like houses.
 

Phil Faris

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It's there in "Bing"

Pin the Bing app and with one swipe right it has "Near Me",
Touch the small map and it enters the full screen app centered on your current location exactly as before.
Or tap "Plan a journey" from the Bing first screen and it goes straight to the "Directions" search screen.
Just like the previous version.
 

jemwp

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Pin the Bing app and with one swipe right it has "Near Me",
Touch the small map and it enters the full screen app centered on your current location exactly as before.
Or tap "Plan a journey" from the Bing first screen and it goes straight to the "Directions" search screen.
Just like the previous version.
I'm not seeing the "Plan a journey" screen, however I still don't think this gets me what I'm looking for. I live in New York City, so searching "Nearby" yields hundreds of results. What I used to have was a list of Favorite places all around the city that I could select from and then get options to Reserve a Table or Navigate with Nokia Transit (etc). The suggestions being offered are what I originally mentioned in my post, which is going through Local Scout. The problem with this method is that you have to manually find the place you're looking for each time, which is very inconvenient. It's like telling me to search through Bing every time I want to access a webpage, instead of using a bookmark.

I just want access to Bing Maps back! It's still on the phone (Local Scout uses it), but hidden and won't let me save favorites.
 

Odog4ever

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Can't even say I'm surprised. Been a WP user for 2 yrs and have had to accept the fact that on WP things are "almost" awesome. One or two features always seem to be out of sync or slightly askew, leaving you wanting more.


But as a whole I still think WP is superior to iOS and Android. It's just frustrating when features get removed or certain things get prioritized without any explanation.
 

DaveGx

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I don't really like Nokia maps/drive. I had Navigon on WP7, but I can not download it for this phone. Not sure if its a compatibility problem or what
 

jerrynomenon

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Though both maps use same Nokia maps data, I prefer Bing maps app as it is "native" app (it loads way faster than Nokia Maps App). Also, Bing maps app looks way more metro-ish than Nokia one. I like Nokia maps app's public transit direction but hate absense of local scout button.
It is actually confusing that even though Bing maps is hidden, it can be launched from local scout.
Why Nokia why?
 

SnailUK

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Don't see the fuss myself.

Theres nothing that can't be fixed fairly easily, and we know Nokia's rate of update is far far quicker than Microsofts. I've only had my WP8 device a week, and i've already had 1 update to the maps app.

Personally the free offline navigation is the killer app for me, something i always missed on my HD7.

If you feel that strongly, why not use the built in Nokia Care app, and actually give the feedback straight to Nokia.
 

Billy Donkervoet

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I wrote a free app that just opens Bing Maps. You can find it in the store under the name FastMaps or you can go to the site here.

It was just published to the store today but I already submitted a bug fix; there was a problem with the location detection. It still opens Bing Maps but the option to open to your current location is broken without the update, which should go through quickly.

Thanks and enjoy!
 

david90531

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Maps by Mohammed Adenwala also gives you Bing Maps and it has 5 stars rating. Personally I love using Nokia Maps so I won't go back to Bing Maps most likely
 

Brian Lessard

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Nokia has tampered with WP8 features and disabled favorites from Bing Maps and Local Scout. Also, selecting any address from you phone (from local scout, contacts, from a text message, or an email) will automatically open Bing Maps and give you no option to save it as a favorite, and no option to change the default map app to Nokia Maps when you select an address. I spoke to Nokia tech support they say that this feature is working as they intended and are not planing on an update at this time.
 

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