Bing turn-by-turn navigation for Windows Mobile gets taken for a test drive
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 13th 2010 4:27PM
posted May 13th 2010 4:27PM
Microsoft certainly added all the right features to its Bing navigation app for Windows Mobile, but does it actually deliver the goods in real world use? It does according to the folks at PocketNow, who have put the app through its paces and kindly provided a quick demo video of it running on an HTC HD2. While there's nothing too shocking or surprising, it looks like the voice input works well, and the turn-by-turn directions seem to be at least up to par with your average navigation device -- it even has a few nice touches like being able to tap on the screen to repeat the instructions. Head on past the break to check it out the video and, if you're still unsure, you can always take the app for a spin yourself -- it is free, after all.
[Thanks, Keenan I]
[Thanks, Keenan I]
@obobo Please... their are millions of WM users, they still have he number 3 spot in the world.
@timotim
Don't feed the troll.
ahem... excuuuuuuse meeeee.. to be more precise
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile
...less that 2% or worldwide smartphone market AND FALLING... FAST... every single day.. while android adds 60000 new users per day...
@timotim
Exactly. Please don't feed the troll.
@obobo
That wiki article's a little suspect and doesn't seem to correlate with the articles it references. One article says that WinMo had 7.9% of the marketshare in Q3 2009. The other article is from AdMob and references net traffic, not install base or marketshare. I have no idea where the wiki article came up with its numbers.
If you reference this article http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/193797.asp WinMo still had 17% of the smartphone install base at the end of 12/2009. That's only 7% behind iPhone (and considering all the WinMo hate and the Apple love out there, that's pretty impressive) and a full 13% ahead of Android.
There's another article that has similar numbers. Both are based on numbers from comscore. This one is at http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/comScore-Microsoft-Still-a-Strong-Number-Three-in-Phones.aspx and shows Apple at 25%, WinMo at 16%, and Android at 7% in the US. In Europe, Apple and WinMo are tied at 14-15% with Android at 2%.
Btw, RIM is far and away above everyone else in the smartphone market.
So, despite the apple and android fanboi's wishes and the media outlet's desires, WinMo really isn't dead and still has an install base way ahead of Android. Don't get me wrong, I agree WinMo is dying, and I think Android will probably eventually surpass it. A lot of it is MS fault for going to W7 (not that I blame them). A lot of the fault also lies with media outlets putting out all this false info that WinMo isn't just dying it's dead and buried. But there are still plenty of people using WinMo, and MS has stated that they will continue to support WinMo 6.5.x as Windows Phone Starter. Kind of ironic that all these developers are ignoring this install base for the "next thing" which either has half the install base or has a ton of competition (how do you get noticed with 100k apps in the app store?).
I been using on my tp2 its actually not bad. And its free.
Starting to not like Android because of it's fanbase, really would not want to be grouped with a buncha fanboys who say "droid is does/crushes/better/etc." Poor Android, you are poorly represented.
Let the games begin!
I tried installing it on my HTC 8525 . . . and got an 'unsupported screen resolution" error. Weak Sauce.
It would have been quicker to type “Subway”.
I stopped reading comments for awhile because I couldn't handle all the bias comments and the sometimes downright vicious comments from fanboys from both MS and Apple camps. Now we have the Google and Android fanboys which judging by the comments here, seem to be the worst. I really hated Apple fanboys but unbelievably Android fanboys are clearly even more annoying.
Will real tech and gadget fans stand up or better yet, rise up and crush these weak minded fanboys? Fanboyism really is becoming a genuine mental condition which needs to be treated.
I guess it's back to not reading comments, at least here on Engadget again...sigh.
@BeeQAL
Shrug. People attack when they're insecure. The more rabid the attack, the less secure they are.
I used it today... It worked, What more can I say...
I could say:
Come on now Google! Why did you forget about us poor WinMo users!
I promise I'll by an Android powered phone when my contract is up, but for now how about a bone for us WinMo 6.5 users!
Or I could say toss me a Backflip or something else with a keyboard and I'll start using it tomorrow!
But I won't. Maybe someday Google will give us real nav features.
{weep}
I cooked winmo 6.5.x onto my old omnia i910...and well I tried the new bing.. well this is the end result... "Your device has been identified as not supported for this application. Please install the previous version of the bing for Mobile application from m.bing.com." Heres to going around the system!
As much as I like the specs on the HD2, so far nothing beats Google Navigation on my G1. 3D view is easier to follow and more intuitive. Some people I know can't read maps, so top view navigation is not ideal.
I just used it and it's pretty sweet (touch pro).
Come one guys, every OS has their place in the world. You use it because it works for you. I don't see how the google navigation crushes this since Google Navigation ISN'T AVAILABLE FOR ANY OTHER OS THAN ANDROID!
This only gets better for WP7! The Bing Hub should pretty sweet.
Link????
I had a Nexus 1 and sold it for an HD2 (why is a different story) I was lamenting the lack of a free turn by turn navigation with voice, the Nexus 1 worked so sweet! I was close to selling my HD2 for that reason alone (the HD2 hardware is second to none so I was really torn) but suddenly voila...free turn by turn with voice for my HD2. I thought, lame attempt from Microsoft again...nope, it rocks! In some ways it's better than the Google version, I can speak an entire address and Bing nails it, better than my Nexus 1 so I'm sticking with my HD2 for a while. I love Android but WinMo is so powerful and the HD2, well...words cannot describe how sweet it is!
I've been using Bing on my Touch Pro2 since I got it, and on my vx6800 before that. It's definitely nice, and accurate. However, as other people have mentioned, it will DESTROY your battery. I had two full bars, started using Bing turn-by turn, and after maybe 40 minutes (and the turn-by-turn wasn't even running half the time probably, I only used it occasionally to get my bearings), the battery was dead.
I've been using this on my HD2 since it came out. Works pretty well. I don't really like the overlay that comes up when a turn is near - I wish you could disable this. It stays on the screen way too long IMO.
Side note - what's with all the Android trolls? I had a G1 and Droid both on release day, I've been as big an Android supporter as any, but seriously? You feel the need to come in here with your "droid does" and "omgz evo" posts? Come on, grow up. What's funny is the Android people have whined about iPhone users doing this for years now, and here they are....doing the same thing.
this is pretty nice software (especially for free). everything works as it should but i hope they add a "Heading Up" view though so it's more like traditional navigation maps. i use co-pilot 8 now and will continue to but it's nice to know that this will be there when i go to WP7 because i doubt my co-pilot licence will transfer to another version. we'll see though.
So with Microsoft adding a WM7 Nav app and Google Nav exclusive to Android, you think Apple is feeling some pressure to use that purchase a few months back of that mapping company to add Navigation to a new native Maps app? Perhaps next month would be convenient?