Considering switching from android. Concerned about maps .

[James8561]

Thanks!
I checked out here maps. It appears that, although different from google maps, It would serve my per pose as long as the voice navigation works well. ( I need it to say "turn left on xyz street in 1/4 mile so I do not have to watch the screen all the time)

Just so I understand it properly, using Cortana, I could search for a certain business , then ask her to call, or navigate to it all by voice?

Thanks to all for the help!

I just tried this on Cortana.
"where is the nearest in n out restaurant?"
"I found In-N-Out Burger in [city]. It's about [#] miles away."
"call it"
"calling in-n-out burger"

and I tried "drive there" and "walk there" instead of "call it" and Cortana opens HERE Drive+ (which is the car nav app) and bing maps with walking direction respectively for each command.
so yes Cortana can do all that and best of all, she's context-aware so she'll know that "drive there" means that you want directions to in-n-out by car and not driving to a place called "there."

 

[admorris#AC]

I am considering switching from android. I have a 2year old Motorola droid maxx that has slowed to a near stop. I am not a big app user or gamer. However, I do have a couple of concerns. I am a consultant and drive about 50,000 miles a year, mostly in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania .I do a lot of Google searches for directions,phone numbers and information. I also use google voice to make calls while driving etc.
I can live with some growing pains in other areas but I can't sacrifice on the search/navigation piece.

When using Cortana, what maps does the icon use ? How do they compare to google maps in terms of accuracy and integration etc.?
When doing a google search, I can go to the website, navigate to that point or call with one touch. I don't want to give that up.

Please advise.

Thanks
Jeff in Ohio

I drive a big rig on the east coast for a living and tried windows phone. Great phone (Ativ SE), but there is no substitute for Google Maps. Accuracy is better, navigation is better, integration with websites is better. If you're doing that much driving, stick with Android.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[J4rrod]

You have two options, on Windows Phone, Bing Maps or HERE Maps. Both are very good and I have had exactly zero problems since I've been using Bing Maps (2010) and HERE Maps (2012). Since 2010, I've driven over 120k miles, if that tells you anything.

 

[gmcole]

I just tried this on Cortana.
"where is the nearest in n out restaurant?"
"I found In-N-Out Burger in [city]. It's about [#] miles away."
"call it"
"calling in-n-out burger"

and I tried "drive there" and "walk there" instead of "call it" and Cortana opens HERE Drive+ (which is the car nav app) and bing maps with walking direction respectively for each command.
so yes Cortana can do all that and best of all, she's context-aware so she'll know that "drive there" means that you want directions to in-n-out by car and not driving to a place called "there."

That is exactly what I am looking for! Thanks!
I think I'll give the Icon a try.
Assuming that if I buy it straight out (no contract committment) I can sell it.
Thanks for everyones input!!!

 

[anon6002755]

As for the rest of you guys saying destination on left or right. Its actually more simple than that, You have to reach back into your primitive days or land navigation course (if you took one). Just pay attention to the address. Even and Odd number addresses are always opposite of each other.

Thank god for your advice. Problem solved. Now there is no longer a feature that is available on Google maps that isn't available on HERE maps. Any more pro tips? :eck:

Maybe the person looking at switching would be concerned with features that he/she has grown accustomed to having on Google maps navigation being missing. or maybe they should take a land nav course as you suggest or better yet maybe forgo the convenience of owning a smartphone and using voice guided navigation and instead just pick up a paper map.

 

[techgeek32#WN]

One nice feature on Windows Phone in that you can add an app to convert map searches to contacts. Google maps removed that feature.