Perhaps spurred by the lack of Google Maps on iOS 6 and general unhappiness with Apple Maps, Nokia launches its own take on location services-- Here, an HTML 5-based map app.
Currently available on iDevices, Here covers the gamut of map app functions-- voice-guided walking navigation, public transportation directions and offline capabilities.
Through a partnership with Mozilla the app will be available on the forthcoming Firefox OS sometime during 2013. An Android version is also in the works, with an Android Here SDK to be out by early 2013.
Mind you early Here reviews do not sound too promising, with reports of bugs, blurry map visuals and a dated look straight out of the Symbian era.
In other Nokia news, the company now owns 3D mobile mapping technology-- Berkeley-based earthtime. Purchased for an undisclosed sum, earthmine also offers automated data processing pipelines, cloud-based hosting services and server software.
Also available from Nokia is LiveSight, an augmented-reality offering for the Nokia City Lens app on Windows Phone devices.
