Tech blog Nokia Innovation has reportedly received leaked screenshots of Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Phone 8 operating system. The screenshots, which come by way of an anonymous source, appear to show off the WP8 user interface for the camera app, Skype, and also Nokia Drive 3.0, which would indicate that they were taken from one of Nokia's four rumored Windows Phone handsets.
Nokia's signature Windows Phone mapping tool, Nokia Drive, has already escaped into the wild. Anecdotes from a WMPoweruser reader have shown the turn-by-turn GPS app running on a Samsung Omnia 7 and have said the app package, or XAP, works on other phones. It's not clear what Nokia can do to keep the app in check, although it may try requiring later versions to get map data.
Google may have trouble competing with Nokia Drive once it rolls out to the broader market, Nokia's Executive VP of Location and Commerce, Michael Halbherr, told Electronista in an interview late Thursday. Despite Google Maps Navigation being a staple of Android, Google was a "new kid on the block." Nokia had the best map data and navigation in 90 countries, and automakers like BMW were relying on Nokia's platform.
Nokia in kicking off the Lumia Windows Phone mix also brought out its first Windows Phone services, including a few that give it an edge over other WP7 phones and the iPhone. Nokia Drive gives owners a full, turn-by-turn GPS navigation app with voice directions and free maps in a car-ready interface. The launch not only makes it the only Windows Phone with turn-by-turn built-in but now puts it roughly on par with Android's Google Maps Navigation, which has usually been the only other option for built-in car mapping.
