July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Finnish phone maker Nokia has released its “Here” maps app for iOS, and while it might be more helpful than Apple Maps in some regards, we’re still holding out hope that Google Maps will arrive soon.

Nokia announced that its Here Maps for iOS about a week ago. The app offers public transportation info, voice-guided walking directions, and the ability to create personal maps. Here also offers maps that you can download and later access in offline mode.

Unfortunately, through a bit a testing, Here maps aren’t that impressive and don’t appear to be much better than Apple Maps except for offering public transportation directions inside the app. One thing that knocks down a lot of points in my book is the app’s sluggish performance. Zooming in on an area sometimes takes seconds to register even over a decent Wi-Fi connection. Additionally, compared to Apple and Google’s offering, Here Maps look bland and do not offer differentiate streets and various landmarks with enough coloring.

Thankfully Google Maps should be on the way soon as long as Apple approves the app. If Apple does approve, we expect Google Maps to be back on iOS before the end of the year.

If you so choose, you can download Nokia Maps in the iOS App Store now.

Photo credit: Nokia

Making the map industry a tad more interesting today, Nokia and Oracle have announced a partnership that will give Oracle’s business customers access to Nokia’s map data.

Starting today, users of Oracle’s Fusion Middlewear MapViewer software can license Nokia location data, which spans nearly 200 countries. That’s a big deal for businesses that rely on maps, as it offers them map data that’s consistent from country to country. This is a big move by Nokia for the heart of the enterprise.

Nokia purchased mapping company Navteq for $8.1 billion in 2007 and has since then worked hard to get its mapping services into as many devices and services as possible. Much of that progress has happened in the car market, but the company has made inroads in other spaces as well.

In February, for example, Nokia inked a deal with Groupon, and in August, it forged an alliance with Amazon. Nokia’s map technology also got another big nod from Microsoft, which will swap Bing Maps for Nokia’s own in Windows Phone 8. Maps are a big deal.

Sadly, all of this success for Nokia is in stark contrast to the rest of its operations, which have failed to help boost the company’s prospects. So while its deal with Oracle is an important one, the company still has bigger issues to solve elsewhere.

Photo:  Flickr/David R Gilson

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

A native maps app is one of most notable missing features in Amazon’s Kindle Fire. But Amazon may soon fill that void.

The online retailer is set to use Nokia’s maps technology in its upcoming Kindle Fire tablet, Reuters reports.

News of the move comes a month after Amazon purchased UpNext, a mapping startup that specializes in creating 3D maps of cities and stadiums. A Nokia partnership would allow Amazon to use its UpNext purchase to create its own native map application. This, in turn, will allow it to continue avoiding Google’s map technology.

But Amazon isn’t alone in its Google Maps avoidance. Apple made a similar move when it announced its own native Maps app for iOS 6. Likewise, by working with Nokia, Amazon will find itself a tad closer to Microsoft, which will use Nokia’s map technology in its Windows Phone 8 operating system.

But why the lack of Google love? It’s all about competition.

While the Kindle Fire runs on Android, it’s not at all an “Android tablet.” Amazon’s Kindle fork of Android is effectively its own platform, which gives Amazon almost complete control over what happens with it. That’s why Amazon created its own curated app store for the Kindle Fire: The company may be using Android, but that doesn’t make it Google’s ally.

Amazon is drawing the line in the sand, and is pushing Google to the far side of it. Its maps efforts are on the latest proof of that.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Microsoft announced today at the Windows Phone Summit that it will drop support for Bing Maps in Windows Phone 8. Instead, the operating system will rely on Nokia’s map technology.

Among the big features with Nokia Maps are turn-by-turn directions and offline availability, both of which are key features for mobile maps.

It’s been a big month for mobile maps-related announcements. Apple made a similar move earlier this month when it unveiled its own Maps app for iOS, ending its reliance on Google’s map technology.

Microsoft’s news today is a slightly different story, as Bing Maps was its own creation. While it’s unknown whether Nokia Maps will also replace the web version of Bing Maps as well, we do know this: The bond between Nokia and Windows Phone is growing more strong by the day.

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