TechAutos Maps is a mapping solution for Windows Phone 7 that uses sources like Google Maps and OpenStreetMap and gives better coverage in many parts of the world than Bing Maps. TA Maps includes:
- Scrollable/zoomable maps
- GPS location tracking
- Search, driving directions
- Maps: Google street/satellite/terrain/bicycle/China, OpenStreetMap, OpenCycleMap
- Layers: Google traffic, transit
- Favorite locations
- Driving mode (keeps map centered on GPS location)
- GPS sensitivity settings
- Smoothly restores your last map view and pushpins
We will be adding features like a new points-of-interest database in upcoming updates.
How to Get It
TA Maps is available on the marketplace for $1.99 (or equivalent in other countries).
Here’s a direct link: TA Maps at the Zune Marketplace. You can also just search for “TA Maps” in the Marketplace app on your phone.
Contact Us
If you have any feature requests or encounter issues with TA Maps, feel free to contact us at support (at) techautos.com.
Known Issues
Here are issues we have identified in v2.2 thus far:
- At times (particularly with pushpins located far from the current location), a message indicating a WP7 map error may appear. This is likely due to a bug in the WP7 map control, but a workaround is in progress. To get rid of the error, tap the bottom menu then “clear map.”
- Google Maps does not provide search data for Israel, North Korea, Cyprus, Guyana, Kiribati, Maldives, Malta, Palau, Suriname, and Vanuata (see here). This is because Google only has a license to use the data on its own site, and not to provide it to others. We will try to address this by adding other search data sources but can’t provide any guarantees.
Release History
v0.1 – 12/5/2010 – Released as a side-loaded app for jailbroken phones
v2.0.1 – 2/11/2011 – First version to hit Windows Phone Marketplace
v2.1 – 2/18/2011 – Fixed search bug for non-dot-decimal locales, fixed search box focus issue, improved map error handling, added driving mode indication
v2.2 – 3/30/2011 – Added driving directions, zoom buttons, new map types (terrain, bike, OSM, Google China, OpenCycleMap), Google map layers (traffic, transit), prevent screen lock option, pushpin popups, share pin info by email; added trial version; expanded pushpin options; fixed local search bug
