Nokia's dedicated 'Here' maps app hits the iOS App Store

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Nokia on Tuesday made good on a promise to bring its new "Here" mapping service to iOS as it launched a free app complete with offline caching and voice-guided walking directions.

Here
Nokia's new "Here" mapping app offers walking and public transit directions.


First spotted by The Next Web, "Here" comes exactly one week after Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced that the app would be available for iPhones, iPads and iPods sometime in the coming weeks.

According to Nokia, the HTML5-based mapping solution includes offline capabilities and, unlike Apple's own Maps app, voice-guided walking navigation and public transportation directions.

"Maps are hard to get right - but location is revolutionizing how we use technology to engage with the real world," said Nokia's Executive Vice President of Location & Commerce Michael Halbherr, who is responsible for Here. "That's why we have been investing and will continue to invest in building the world's most powerful location offering, one that is unlike anything in the market today."

Here Options


The Finnish company also noted that future updates will come with 3D capabilities akin to Apple and Google's solutions, which will come from technology acquired by earthmine. Nokia is rolling out the mapping service on its Microsoft Windows Phone handsets as well as versions for Google's Android and Mozilla's Firefox OS.

Nokia's app is one of the first major no-cost mapping submissions to rival Apple's Maps app, which caused a flap with consumers and the media when it was released as part of iOS 6 in September. With Maps, Apple chose to move away from its longstanding partnership with Google Maps to a proprietary solution built completely in house. Upon launch, however, the program was fraught with problems like rendering issues and incorrect location data.

The internet search giant is said to be planning its own standalone iOS app that may see release soon as rumors claim the company is distributing near final versions of the software to outside testers. One of the major gripes with Apple's solution is the lack of Google's Street View option, however that feature was brought back to mobile Safari with the Google Maps web app in October with limited functionality.

Nokia's Here is available now for iOS as a free download from the App Store.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57


    got it

  • Reply 2 of 57
    Great app! Searched for 'PrintHouse' in London and the app found 'Penthouse' night club. Didn't realise it could read one's mind! :D
  • Reply 3 of 57
    ecsecs Posts: 307member


    From a user point of view, having several Maps apps is a loss of time and also increases the risk of cluttering. The way Apple should have fight against Google Maps is exactly the way they dropped PowerPC: They only released Intel support when it was 100% ready and it matched all the 100% of functionality of the PowerPC versions. For maps, they should have followed the same approach: develop Apple Maps in secret, until it matches -or surpasses- the 100% of Google Maps functionality, and in the mean time continue supporting Google Maps as the official maps app for iOS. Then, one morning you announce Apple Maps, and the same afternoon the app is ready for download. End of story. That's the way Apple always played these games, and that's how they should have done it now.


     


    Instead, they argued you had lots of maps apps as alternatives to Apple Maps and Google Maps. That's bad, you don't need cluttering alternatives, you want Google Maps, and -when it's ready-, Apple Maps. Just keep it simple.


     


    Now let's wait until we also get Sony Maps, McDonalds Maps, and Barbie Maps.

  • Reply 4 of 57
    I encourage everyone to download and try out this software. It's a great reminder of the crap people have to put up with on other platforms.

    No retina graphics. It's slow. Pinch to zoom is wonky. Search results are not centered on the map, so when you try to zoom in the search result immediately scrolls off screen. Search results are worse than Apple Maps.

    Most of the search problems with Apple Maps in my area were resolved within the first two weeks of release. These same problems are still present in Nokia's maps.
  • Reply 5 of 57


    "Maps are hard to get right"


     


    And they got them wrong. Very slow, shitty typography, zooming isn't continuous, so whenever you stop pinching it'll jump to the nearest accepted zoom level (in practice not even close to what you wanted). Several roads missing (including half my entire neighbourhood), some in the wrong place, and a complete lack of POIs that makes Apple Maps (which is great on roads but poor on POIs in my city) look like a gold standard. Transit directions were also missing from my city.

  • Reply 6 of 57

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ecs View Post


    From a user point of view, having several Maps apps is a loss of time and also increases the risk of cluttering. The way Apple should have fight against Google Maps is exactly the way they dropped PowerPC: They only released Intel support when it was 100% ready and it matched all the 100% of functionality of the PowerPC versions. For maps, they should have followed the same approach: develop Apple Maps in secret, until it matches -or surpasses- the 100% of Google Maps functionality, and in the mean time continue supporting Google Maps as the official maps app for iOS. Then, one morning you announce Apple Maps, and the same afternoon the app is ready for download. End of story. That's the way Apple always played these games, and that's how they should have done it now.


     


    Instead, they argued you had lots of maps apps as alternatives to Apple Maps and Google Maps. That's bad, you don't need cluttering alternatives, you want Google Maps, and -when it's ready-, Apple Maps. Just keep it simple.


     


    Now let's wait until we also get Sony Maps, McDonalds Maps, and Barbie Maps.



    And this is a great thing. Even Google Maps for iOS will become much better JUST BECAUSE Apple did the right thing. Maps in general will be better because of what Apple did.


     


    If you don't understand it, you are hopeless.

  • Reply 7 of 57
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Tried out their Here maps on my 5 and they are dire. Did a side by side with Apple Maps and Google Maps and the Nokia service is terrible, no detail satellite maps for my location and no POI's. I will stick to the Apple Maps and Co-Pilot for navigation thanks.

    Deleted and 1 starred in the App store now.
  • Reply 8 of 57
    Don't plan to even give it a try. Very happy with Apple Maps.
  • Reply 9 of 57
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    ecs wrote: »
    From a user point of view, having several Maps apps is a loss of time and also increases the risk of cluttering. The way Apple should have fight against Google Maps is exactly the way they dropped PowerPC: They only released Intel support when it was 100% ready and it matched all the 100% of functionality of the PowerPC versions. For maps, they should have followed the same approach: develop Apple Maps in secret, until it matches -or surpasses- the 100% of Google Maps functionality, and in the mean time continue supporting Google Maps as the official maps app for iOS. Then, one morning you announce Apple Maps, and the same afternoon the app is ready for download. End of story. That's the way Apple always played these games, and that's how they should have done it now.

    Instead, they argued you had lots of maps apps as alternatives to Apple Maps and Google Maps. That's bad, you don't need cluttering alternatives, you want Google Maps, and -when it's ready-, Apple Maps. Just keep it simple.

    Now let's wait until we also get Sony Maps, McDonalds Maps, and Barbie Maps.

    Re: the bolded.

    I don't know where you were during the transition to Intel, but there was plenty of complaining because many apps ran slower - and some apps wouldn't run at all on the Intel machines. It took years before the transition was largely trouble-free.
  • Reply 10 of 57
    I have to say that after downloading this and with the resolution of a lot of the initial issues with Apple maps I can say that I prefer and actually "like" Apple maps now. It is generally my default for getting anywhere...the turn by turn navigation is smooth and generally pretty good. It is definitely graphically superior to Nokia and I feel that if they can expand the 3d models it will replace google maps quite nicely. The only thing I miss from google maps is street view which I dont use all the time and with the coming google app it solves that issue.
  • Reply 11 of 57


    This is a good app that has well tested map data behind it, but I still prefer the new Apple Maps.  Apple Maps just looks and feels better to use and as it matures will rule the maps of the universe.


     


    This Nokia app was probably being developed because the automotive industry which uses Nokia maps heavily is considering iOS based automotive computer system.  They probably want many GPS mapping options and if they already have contracts with Nokia maps then they would want Nokia to port it's GPS to iOS.


     


    It's a win win for Nokia and Apple and a lost for Google.


     


    Time will tell.

  • Reply 12 of 57
    Finally I have something that can be called Maps on my iPhone! It's way, way, WAAAY better then that stupid Apple Maps! Although is not as detailed as the old Google Maps, at least now I can actually find something on the map when I search.Thank you Nokia! Keep it up and who knows, maybe next year I might give a try to a future Lumia 1020!
  • Reply 13 of 57
    Try this test:
    Type Cayman Islands in both Apple Maps and Nokia Here Maps. In Apple Maps there is only the airport, NO STREETS AT ALL, but in Nokia Here Maps there are streets and everything! That's the difference! Apple Maps SUCKS if you are not in USA!
  • Reply 14 of 57


    Took a quick look at HERE.  Like many have said, it is a little backward compared to Apple or Google Map.  Nothing compared to Apple Map in terms of speed.  Search is Google's specialty, but one can get by with the Apple map in the US.  I still prefer Apple map for its speed.  For the time being, the HERE map is here to stay to supplement Apple map for its offline capability.  We'll see what Google brings to the table.  After all the trash talk (Apple won't approve 3rd party map app), they better do the walk and not hold back on functionality.  The hurdle is getting higher and higher for a map app to stay on my devices.  Competition is good for the users.  I am glad that Apple brings out their own map to raise the bar.

  • Reply 15 of 57
    Apple maps, look nicer, apple maps feels more polished. but nokia maps actually has the correct data. mean while applemaps is off target by close to 100km. So yeah apple maps sucks ass where i live compared to nokia and the old google app. I dont give a shit that apples offering works flawless in some US major city 15000km away. What bothers me is the shit experience I am having with where I need to use maps. Which the previous offering by google still solves better
    than anyone. I also dont care for the hacky HTML street view which is inferior to the google app for the way i want to use maps.

    I don't like it when a company removes a feature that I paid for and really like. I really dont care if 100000 other people love the new app. When I pay for something I like with my money and its removed its all about me!
  • Reply 16 of 57
    alexnalexn Posts: 119member
    With much trepidation today I updated my iPhone 4 from iOS5.1.1 to 6.0.1. Given the great squawking and clucking(tm) over the last couple of months I was expecting a bloodbath with an unusable phone at the end. [I]NOT THE CASE AT ALL[/I]. Not only was the update as smooth as glass, but the dreaded maps worked [I]PERFECTLY[/I] in the corner of Sydney that I live in. I even tried a route to the local Westfield and Maps gave me three options: the first of which was closest to the one that I usually take.

    I had a quick poke round London and Mumbai (neither of which I know, I have to confess) and the satellite images were perfectly clear. What mosaicing there was [I]CLEARED UP IF I LEFT THE THING TO SETTLE DOWN FOR A FEW SECONDS[/I] (rather than having a tantrum and taking a snap of it for online uploading ;)).

    I even "located" family in Adelaide, even with inadvertent misspellings.

    For a version 1 (or "1.0.1") I find it to be surprisingly good, and not the pre-alpha disaster that its critics have accused it of being.

    I tried the browser version of Nokia Maps last week, and they seem good too, although I was put off by the ad banner (admittedly it can be hidden). I haven't downloaded "Here" yet, but at the moment I don't need to. That may change, of course, and many people will no doubt say that it [I]will[/I].

    So far, so good: [I]VERY PLEASED[/I] :).
  • Reply 17 of 57
    The only thing I am looking for is a really good public transit app, which Google Maps did well.
  • Reply 18 of 57
    nelsonx wrote: »
    Finally I have something that can be called Maps on my iPhone! It's way, way, WAAAY better then that stupid Apple Maps! Although is not as detailed as the old Google Maps, at least now I can actually find something on the map when I search.Thank you Nokia! Keep it up and who knows, maybe next year I might give a try to a future Lumia 1020!

    Try this test: type the word 'shill' into your browser.
    Wiki definition sound right ?
  • Reply 19 of 57
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member


    Gave it a try and then promptly deleted it. Terrible app.  Everything was fuzzy and blocky (no Retina graphics).  It uses only bitmapped maps which, after using Apple Maps, is joke.  It was choppy in trying to find my location and I felt like I was playing an Atari game.


     


    Perhaps the only thing I have found lacking in Apple Maps is a more intelligent search algorithm to make up for my lack of intelligence when searching for things.  For instance, I may just type "FedEx" to find nearby FedEx stores, but it only would find FedEx warehouses or miss out on other business locations that can ship FedEx.  Otherwise, the quality of the maps and routing I've found to be excellent.

  • Reply 20 of 57
    irnchriz wrote: »
    Tried out their Here maps on my 5 and they are dire. Did a side by side with Apple Maps and Google Maps and the Nokia service is terrible, no detail satellite maps for my location and no POI's. I will stick to the Apple Maps and Co-Pilot for navigation thanks.

    Deleted and 1 starred in the App store now.

    That's some thorough review you did there...
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