Nokia Here Maps for Android: Beta version now available to download for free from Google Play

Nokia's popular Here Maps is now available to download for free, for Android smartphone users across the world. However, the latest downloadable version is currently in the form of a beta, so you can expect certain minor issues. Yet, the application is worth testing within your smartphones considering the fact that you will be able to provide feedback for improvements in the application's stable release.

Here Maps for Android can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, and the app comes with the following features and enhancements:

• Turn-by-turn drive and walk voice guidance - even without an Internet connection. Here's voice-guided navigation feature, has been updated to feature 18 additional countries thus taking the total number of supported countries to 118
• Interactive maps of more than 100 countries that you can download, save and use offline
• Public transport maps, directions and information for more than 800 cities in more than 40 countries
• Real-time traffic and road closure information for more than 40 countries
• Personalise maps on your phone or here.com and store all the places you'd like to see when you get there
• Glympse functionality within Here lets you share your travel progress and arrival time by text or email

Along with the above features, engineers at Here have also incorporated the conventional performance/stability enhancements and fixes to a known voice-related navigation bug within the Android app.

Before downloading Here beta for your Android smartphones, do ensure that your Android is running version 4.1 and above.

Here is available to download in the form of a 38MB file.

Do let us know how the Here Maps beta for Android felt, after testing out the app within your smartphones.

According to Here's technical minds, users on Apple's iOS can also expect Here Maps for their devices.

"Following the positive reviews of HERE for Android, a lot of people have expressed their interest in an iOS version of our app. We really appreciate this interest and demand. Our iOS app development team is working hard on this and we plan to officially launch HERE for iOS in early 2015," states an official Here blog posting.