Google doesn’t have a lot of apps under its name in the Windows Phone Store — except the search app. We’ve seen fake apps popping up in the app store from time-to-time under the Google name, but keep in mind, if they release it officially, there would be lots of hype. There’s no word from the search engine giant if we’ll see any new Google apps for the Windows Phone Store any time soon.
One of the apps I can’t live without is Google Maps — Here Maps that comes with the Lumia devices are pretty solid, but not for my region. After digging around in the Windows Phone Store for some time, I did come across a few apps, which can come in quite handy when it comes to navigation, and other Google Maps features. Take a look at them, and let us know if you use any of them:
1. gMaps
gMaps is one of the best third-party clients for Google Maps, which is available for Windows Phone devices. The apps offers most of the features offered by the official Google Maps app, driver mode, transits, offers directions, alternate routes to destinations taking into account things like traffic, etc and more.
The app even has a very decent UI, which also mentions the estimated time it will take to reach your destination, depending on your mode of traveling — walk, bicycle, car, etc. In short, it’s a fully featured app, which makes use of Google Maps data.
2. Maps+
If you’re a regular reader at Winbeta, you may have seen this name pop up a number of times. The app doesn’t rely on Google Maps, but offers one of the best navigation experiences for Windows Phone devices. The app offers turn-by-turn voice guided GPS navigation, as well as real-time traffic conditions on the way to your destination.
Best of all, the app even works offline. All you have to do is download the maps for your region, and use them on the go, even if you don’t have data connection. This would also help users save their data allowances, thereby reducing the monthly bill too.
3. CoPilot GPS
Last, but not the least, CoPilot GPS is another popular navigation app. The app offers offline support as well, storing the maps for your region on your device so you don’t have to rely on an active data connection. The app offers driving directions, alternate routes to choose from, walking mode, and more.
The app is available as a free download, but there’s another handy feature which requires an in-app purchase — voice guided navigation. Users can get the maps for some regions for free, including US + Canada; UK + Ire; Balkans; BeNeLux, Russia; DACH; France; Greece; Iberia; Italy; Nordics; Poland; Romania; Turkey; Ukraine, S. Africa; Australia + NZ; Brazil; Middle East and South East Asia. You can even add extra regions, other than the ones listed via in-app purchases.
There you have it folks. I still miss Google Maps on the device, but you can rely on some of the above mentioned apps until Google decides to change its mind. If there’s any other app worth mentioning, let us know about it using the comments below.
Further reading: Google Maps, Windows Phone
