Nokia Releasing Maps for Competing Devices 57
another random user writes with news about Nokia's Meego/Winphone mapping application being ported to other systems, including Mozilla's Firefox OS. From the article: "Here Maps will initially be released on Apple iOS devices offering downloadable street plans for offline use, and audio-based directions for pedestrians. Nokia is also developing a version for Mozilla's forthcoming Firefox operating system, and will release software tools to allow third parties to make use of its data on Android devices. The move is designed to help the firm compete against Google's rival product."
Interesting (Score:4, Interesting)
I keep hearing about how great Nokia's maps are, so I'll be interested to try it. Having more users means more data sources, which means that the product should be able to improve more than if it were limited to Nokia phones. I just hope it has a better interface than their website, which is way behind Google's in usability.
Offline maps are great when travelling (Score:3, Interesting)
When I'm driving through the rockies, sometimes I just cannot get a phone/data signal, so having maps available offline is very valuable
Nokia's data source is great (Score:5, Interesting)
For those who aren't aware, Nokia sources its mapping data from FedEx [theatlantic.com] and a number of other couriers. As a result, the maps that they're using are not only more up-to-date, since the couriers need to keep them updated in order to stay in business, but they're also more able to work in data such as traffic patterns and the like, since the couriers put in FAR more time and miles on the road than the technology companies.
To put it in perspective, UPS drives 3.3 billion miles each year. In contrast, Google's cars have driven "only" 5 million miles in total. So, roughly a thousand times more in a fraction of the time. Google's mapping data isn't insignificant, but it's dwarfed by the amount being produced by UPS, FedEx, and the like, and Nokia has access to all of that.
Re:Offline maps are great when travelling (Score:4, Interesting)
And as long as the provider of the data allows them to - for example - not in Japan.