Nokia Drive+ Beta, which is available for all of Nokia's Windows Phone 8 devices, has been updated to version 2.1.0.1451. The new version has a battery saver mode, an added on-screen shortcut to return to your current position when exploring the map, and a number of minor UI improvements and bug fixes.

The battery saver mode, which ca be switched off/on in the app's settings, will turn off the GPS when the app is sent to the background, unless the app is in guidance mode (i.e. activate navigation going on). This preserves battery life by reducing the polling of the GPS in the background. The small downside to this is the it will take a few seconds to get a location lock, but that's a small price to pay for improved battery life.

The on-screen my position indicator, which appears in the bottom left hand corner of the screen when you are exploring or panning the map (i.e. scrolling around), allows you to return the map to your current location with a single tap. The indicator also shows the distance (of the centre of the map) from your current position. It's a simple addition, but a very welcome one, as it makes it much quicker and simpler to "snap back" to your current position, while maintaining the maximum possible amount of screen space for map display.

Nokia is constantly expanding the number of countries supported by Nokia Drive. According to the app's description the number of countries currently support is 89.

Nokia Drive+ is the version of Nokia Drive for Nokia's Lumia device running on Windows Phone 8. The name reflects the fact that Nokia is willing to license the standard version of Nokia Drive to other manufacturers, although none of the other Windows Phone manufacturers have yet taken this option up. Nokia Drive+ will have a number of extra features over the standard version. This is likely to include the "My Commute" functionality, which is currently only available on Windows Phone 7.5 devices.

The updated version of Nokia Drive+ can be downloaded from the Nokia collection in the Windows Phone Store. Note that when you first run the updated version you will need to re-download the voice files for Nokia Drive+. This is a one time process and is best done over WiFi as, depending on the number of voices you have installed, it can be a significant size download.