Fancy driving or catching public transport? Why not take a stroll with your Windows Phone?

You lot're going to get behind the wheel? No, you want to grab the bus? Hold it, dear chap! Instead, since information technology'south Mobile Nations Fitness Calendar month, why don't you make use of the pedestrian functionality in the Windows Phone Maps app? Stretch those legs, turn up the beats and introduce your favourite swagger to the unexpected public.

At that place's nothing similar a casual stroll on a Friday afternoon, right? Planning a walking route is an like shooting fish in a barrel feature to overlook when non used on a regular footing but it is a simple feature to brand utilize of. A characteristic that volition aid you get to and from your destination and burn a few calories along the manner.

There's a neat option in the Maps app, available for Windows Phone. When searching for directions to a POI (Signal of Interest) or simply your destination, yous have the choice in viewing a calculated route for both public transport and driving a vehicle. There'south a third option, for pedestrians. This is the tool yous can employ to assist dust off those walking boots and accumulating some serious step counts.

First, we need to burn down up the Maps app (Nokia Maps or Bing Maps). Once it'southward loaded, striking the action bar ("...") to bring up the menu and select "directions" (or hit the arrow if y'all're using the Bing UI).
This is where the magic happens. Be certain to select John the Walker next to Percy the Double-decker. The icon should light upwards blackness and we're good to get. Simply fill in your start and destination and the app will and then calculate the best road for you to walk. With the Bing UI the walker icon appears after you enter the destination.

We've found the instructions for pedestrians to be pretty accurate and have managed to reach destinations quicker than the provided ETA. But why should yous make use of this feature, y'all inquire? Since information technology's Fitness Month and we're all getting our pedometers out the drawer, it makes sense to accumulate as many steps as possible to both burn down the calories and brag to friends.

Another reason to use the walking directions is to shell traffic. If you're used to congested cities and towns, London being a prime example, you've probably evacuated the train or motorcoach when you notice that the general public appear to exist traveling faster on two legs. Using the Maps app to discover the best route to a location within a busy urban center provides more incentive to beat the traffic (especially buses) and get to wherever you need to exist promptly.

Effort it out for work or school. If you commute into a urban center and use public ship, why non take out your pedometer, summate the quickest route to walk using Windows Phone and see how much longer it takes for y'all to get to and from the role / edifice. Then do the usual journey with the device and compare the two routes - while walking may take longer, do note that y'all could well exist called-for more than energy on foot.

Speaking of which, exercise you lot ain a Fitbit tracker? If so, and so be sure to bring together the public Windows Phone Central group to compare your progress with everyone else, assist motivate others and ensure you're motivated to go on exercising. The Windows Phone Central squad have been rocking hard with the devices to run into only how much we fire.

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