Some may not realize Nokia has a Beta website called Nokia Betalabs. After a quick sign up you can download Beta applications for all different types of Nokia devices (think Windows Phone and Symbian) and leave reviews, feedback and suggestions. I saw that Nokia Transit (initial version) still had the suggestions box open so suggested the addition of St. Louis. A few days later a Nokia rep replied to my post that it had been added, but for the upcoming version 2.0.

Having seen the news that the  release of the Nokia Transit (a.k.a. Nokia Transport) beta version 2.0 took place today I immediately made my way to Nokia Betalabs to try it out. A quick scan of a QR code by my Lumia and I was delighted to see Nokia made good on their word and I was finding nearby bus stops and routes.

Given this is a beta I won’t focus too much on the interface as it may change, but this is a really nice app. It appears to have two basic functions; Journey Planner and Transit Nearby.

Journey Planner will give you multiple options for using public transit to get to your destination. It will combine the different public transportation methods in your area to give you multiple options to your destination based on the time the route starts. It represents this in a timetable that visually breaks out the transportation method: walking, bus or light rail. A nice feature allows you to see the map of the walking route by clicking on the compass near that part of the route. I feel very confidant you’d have a hard time getting lost with this app.

Transit Nearby is a simple list of nearby public transportation stops, the bus or train number and the time table.

To give a bit of a personal story I have not ridden a public transportation bus since my college days and have never done so in St. Louis. I ride Metrolink regularly. Given the abundance of stops near my location I have set a personal goal to get around downtown using the combination of bus and Metrolink just to experience what our public transportation system is truly like. With this app in hand, I feel I’ll be crossing that goal off my list soon, and will no doubt have a story and full review of how successful the app was in a real life situation very soon.

Finally, kudos to Nokia for reading, responding and making good on user comments and suggestions. I was impressed and am happy to see Nokia has thus far had a stellar record of customer support with their Lumia devices and apps.

If you have a Lumia device and use public transportation go download Nokia Transit (Nokia Transport) Beta 2.0 from Nokia Betalabs today.

Sources: Nokia Betalabs

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Source: Microsoft, The Verge

Source: Microsoft blog

A link to the list is at https://twitter.com/mwgeek/stlwindowsphone

If you know of others that should be added please contact us.

Yes, there was quite a bit of nerdy conversation, but everyone was a joy to meet and shared a genuine interest and love for Microsoft’s mobile OS. Developer’s talked about their apps, which will be linked on our “Support Midwest Developers” page.

If you missed the meet up don’t worry there will be future events planned. The best way to stay on top of the schedule is to sign up to the group via this link.

I’m excited to see how this group grows in the future. It was great to meet everyone!

Source: Twitter, Nokia

Within hours Nokia posted the following not only acknowledging the issue but confirming a software fix coming in the next week and giving anyone who purchased a Lumia from launch until April 21 a $100 credit on their AT&T bill. Given upgrade pricing for the Lumia is $99 you actually can come out on this deal with a very high end LTE device and an extra dollar. Give credit to Nokia for handling this issue very well, this is no iPhone antennae-gate that is for sure.

Granted we haven’t yet posted our detailed review of the Lumia yet, but have no doubt this is an extremely nice phone and is considered the “hero” Windows Phone. If you’re in the market for a new device get to an AT&T store today and check out the Lumia 900 for yourself so you can take advantage of this offer.

Source: Nokia

AT&T recently announced that they were going to bring LTE to the St. Louis market and they delivered on that promise. What does LTE mean to consumers? On my personal Nokia Lumia 900 I tested LTE data speeds of 14 MB download and 3 MB upload. That is quite impressive especially considering my home internet connection is only 12 MB down. You can see if LTE is available to you by checking the coverage area at www.att.com/network.

Although, we will have a much more detailed look at the Lumia 900 in the coming days I’ll leave you with the following videos focusing on the AT&T LTE Strategy and the Lumia 900.