14 DAY TRIAL // The Finnish giant mobile phone maker Nokia has recently released a new major update to its Nokia Maps 3.0, which is currently in beta stage. The update has been expected for a while now, mainly due to the fact that the company announced back in December a Nokia Maps 3.0 in early beta, which was stated to bring better-looking maps, as well as 3D landmarks and other features, only that the release was then available only on a few devices, particularly on S60.
One of the most important features of the new update release is that the application now works with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 devices, as well as with N96. The entire list of the S60 3rd Edition FP1 handsets supported by the Nokia Maps 3.0 Beta includes E71, E66, 6110 Navigator, N95, N95 8GB and N82, while that of the S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 devices sports N96, N85, N79, 6650, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic and N78.
According to the development team of the application, the new version comes along with an entire series of bug fixes, to which a wide range of new features and enhancements can be added. At start-up, the application takes the user to its current position, as soon as that position is established. In case the position can not be found in a matter of seconds, the application will go to the last known position of the user.
With the new Nokia Maps 3.0 Beta, users can rotate the map, thus being able to view 3D landmarks from all directions. The rotation is enabled by pressing 4 and 6 in the map view, while 5 will return to the ‘north up’ view. At the same time, 2 and 8 enable users to tilt the view while in 3D mode.
According to the team, the 2D/3D mode should work with all map modes, like Map/Satellite/Terrain. Other changes in the new version include a cleaned up My Favorites menu, while History is moved higher in the menu, My Places comes with the “Point me to” option for any saved place/landmark, providing directions to that place on the map. In addition, there is synchronization of Favorites and Collections with Ovi Maps, so that users can plan routes on Ovi Maps as well.
You should try out the new Nokia Maps 3.0 Beta, to check out the new features and the way it looks now. The app is available for download on Softpedia as well, via this link.