Telecom Lead India: Mobile phone major Nokia will launch HERE, a maps and location service on the cloud, and buy earthmine for adding 3D capabilities.
The Finnish company will also tie up with Mozilla and Apple iOS to expand its map business.
HERE will deliver the world’s best maps and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems.
“People want great maps, and with HERE we can bring together Nokia’s location offering to deliver people a better way to explore, discover and share their world,” said Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop.
Nokia will also launch a maps application for Apple iOS under the HERE brand. Based on HTML5, it will include offline capabilities, voice-guided walk navigation, and public transport directions. The application is scheduled to be available for free download from Apple’s App Store in the coming weeks.
Nokia will have a partnership with Mozilla to bring location experiences to the Firefox OS. Nokia plans to debut a mobile Web version of HERE Maps for the new Firefox OS next year.
“Mozilla is a leader in HTML5, building the Web as a platform for developing compelling applications, and location is a key part of that platform,” said Jay Sullivan, Mozilla Vice President of Products. “We are excited to work with Nokia as the combination of Firefox OS and HERE’s location platform provides rich possibilities for mobile application developers to create amazing experiences for users.”
To advance the 3D capabilities of HERE, Nokia will buy earthmine. The company’s reality capture and processing technologies will become integral parts of HERE’s 3D map making capabilities.
“Maps are hard to get right – but location is revolutionizing how we use technology to engage with the real world,” said Michael Halbherr, executive vice president of Location & Commerce and responsible for the HERE brand.
Nokia also introduced LiveSight that provides intuitive augmented reality experience and uses a phone’s camera viewfinder to make discovering the world as easy as lifting up a phone.
