Subscribe

Nokia maps new path

Kathryn McConnachie
By Kathryn McConnachie, Digital Media Editor at ITWeb.
Johannesburg, 14 Nov 2012
Nokia hopes that with the new branding, its location and mapping services can now be pushed horizontally across devices and vendors.
Nokia hopes that with the new branding, its location and mapping services can now be pushed horizontally across devices and vendors.

Nokia has rebranded its mapping and location portfolio and introduced "Here", a new HTML5-based cloud location service that will be available across devices and platforms.

The announcement marks Nokia's official entry into the ongoing "mapping wars", which Google Maps is currently dominating, while Apple is trying to bolster its new in-house offering and Microsoft trails with Bing.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop says: "With Here we can extend our 20 years of location expertise to new devices and operating systems that reach beyond Nokia. As a result, we believe that more people will benefit from and contribute to our leading mapping and location service."

Elop has emphasised that, strategically, a major part of the new branding is to help push it horizontally, and make it more appealing to smartphone competitors and other vendors.

Following the debacle around Apple's Maps app, Nokia is seeking to capitalise on the opportunity to get its services onto iOS devices. A Here branded iOS app will be available in the coming weeks and will feature offline capabilities, voice-guided walk navigation and public transport directions (which were notably absent from Apple's Maps app).

Nokia has also entered into a strategic partnership with Mozilla, with a view to launch a mobile Web version of Here Maps for the new Firefox OS next year. The Finnish phone manufacturer is also looking to find its way into the Android eco-system and has revealed an Android OS-based reference application and announced plans for the availability of a Here SDK for Android OEMs in early 2013.

Adding to the slew of announcements, Nokia is in the process of acquiring Earthmine, in order to bolster its 3D-mapping capabilities. The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of the year.

Nokia is also improving its augmented reality technology with LiveSight technology. The first implementation of this has already been seen in the Nokia City Lens application for Lumia devices.

Executive VP of location and commerce and head of the Here brand for Nokia, Michael Halbherr, says: "Maps are hard to get right - but location is revolutionising how we use technology to engage with the real world. 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."

Speaking at a press event for Here, Halbherr joked that Nokia decided to create an iOS app "on the off chance that there are some iPhone users who want a different map".

Well-positioned

Forrester analyst Thomas Husson says, unlike Ovi, the "Here" brand will "speak for itself. This is all about interaction with places around you, about context. Thanks to a best-of-breed product experience, Nokia is well positioned to deliver the most differentiated location experience."

Husson points out that during the Mapplegate saga, most consumers were only comparing Apple and Google Maps. "The harsh reality was that Nokia couldn't leverage its strength in the location-based space without an umbrella brand like 'Here'," says Husson, adding the opportunity is bigger than just Nokia.

"This is about addressing different types of connected devices - not just mobile phones, but also tablets, connected cars, and wearables. As such, Here could play a pivotal role in helping Nokia leverage tomorrow's new mobile form factors.

"I think we're just scratching the surface of the new opportunities that location data will unlock," says Husson.

"There is tremendous value in knowing not just where customers are at a given moment in time, but also where they are going and who they are - in an aggregated and anonymous way, obviously. For product strategists, this new gold mine of information means opportunities to create new experiences based on location-aware services."

The Web app is live at Here.net.

Share