Nokia Lumia 800 City Lens app reviewed

Having grown accustomed to my droid for close to two years now, it is understandable why I’d be a bit hesitant to change. Personal accounts synched to my phone, apps I use every day for easy access to a wealth of information and some very smart apps that just make life that much more interesting in a constantly changing environment are some of the many reasons I’ve grown to love my Android.

But I most certainly was excited at the opportunity to review Nokia’s increasingly popular mid-range smartphone the Lumia 800 and particularly interested in the City Lens app that is one of the Mango OS’s unique offerings for Nokia smartphones.

The best part about the City Lens is that it plots destinations based on proximity from your current location on your camera viewfinder. It smartly forms clusters of locations in any direction that your camera is pointing, which once tapped on gives the user more detailed information about each individual touch point that includes distance from current location, category of interest and an overall rating. You can even read user reviews about a location you’ve closed in on, and check out a few photos of the place just so you have a clearer picture of what you’re actually looking for.  

In an unfamiliar environment or a first time city visit, where crowded streets and unfamiliar roads are a major hindrance to easily finding a good restaurant or getting hold of needy public transport, the Nokia City Lens app helps you easily track down a destination of your choice based on the category of your search. 

In India the City Lens is available for all mapped cities and Nokia has announced that a new version of Nokia City Lens would ship pre-installed on its soon to be launched Windows Phone 8 devices.