Articles about Maps

It's finally official. Nokia today announced the sale of its HERE division to German car makers Audi, BMW and Daimler. The mapping and location services business is probably best known for powering products offered by major tech companies like Baidu, Facebook and Microsoft.

Audi, BMW and Daimler have agreed to pay €2.8 billion ($3.07 billion at the time of writing this article) to gain ownership of HERE, with Nokia expecting to receive "slightly above €2.5 billion", after factoring in "certain defined liabilities" coming in at just under €300 million. Not too shabby, but well below the rumored asking price of $4 billion.

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You know all those little car icons you see when you open up your Uber app? All those little cabs in close proximity, just waiting to pick you up?

Well, they might be fake. Researchers from think-tank Data & Society said the cars shown to be very close to you could be fake, but the arrival times are still accurate.

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Nokia has agreed to a deal with a consortium of German car manufacturers for the sale of Here Maps, for $2.71 billion (£1.73 billion). The deal would see Here Maps turn into an open platform, which all car manufacturers can use for navigation and mapping inside vehicles.

Volkswagen (Audi’s parent company), Daimler (Mercedes-Benz parent company) and BMW are the main buyers. The three German manufacturers managed to worm their way out of paying upwards of $4 billion (£2.56 billion), which is what Nokia was apparently looking for when all of the interest started surging on Here Maps.

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Google is everywhere, you cannot run and you cannot hide. Well, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but if you use Android or any of Google's services, it is compiling data to track your actions and behaviors. The search giant may know your favorite restaurants, sexual tastes, plus home and work locations too.

If you use Google Maps and location services, the search giant is even tracking your movements. While that can lead to powering some useful solutions, it is also creepy as hell. Today, Google announces "Your Timeline", which is a tool for Android and desktop that shows you all the places you have been. While it is sort of cool, it is also a reminder that Google is watching you.

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Whenever I use Bing Maps I get the sense that Microsoft has long conceded that its service will never be as popular as Google Maps. Otherwise it would look more visually appealing -- not as if it is a low-priority product -- and frequently gain new, powerful features. With Windows 10 on the horizon -- and Bing a key part of the experience -- not having Bing Maps ready for an influx of new users feels like a missed opportunity.

However, Microsoft is actively working on a major redesign for Bing Maps, which might put it back on consumers' radar. "Users want a map experience that is fast and easy to use, and makes the most of the visually rich data that maps can bring to life", says the team behind the service. And with lots of changes, it certainly looks promising.

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Ride-sharing company Uber and Chinese search giant Baidu have teamed up to acquire Nokia’s Here Maps division for £2.2 billion. The partnership is the second of its kind, with Baidu investing £387 million in Uber late last year.

The two will look for an all-cash acquisition, but Uber and Baidu are not the only partners trying to acquire Here Maps. Tencent Holdings, NavInfo and EQT Partners have partnered as well, bringing a Chinese rivalry into the mix.

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It is no secret that Nokia is pondering the sale of its HERE division. The Finnish company wants to focus on the telecommunications market, and HERE, which offers location services, mapping and navigation software, seems to be nothing but extra weight to lug around. Seeing as a sale is inevitable, the question is, who is going to buy it?

A rumor that's floating around now suggests that Nokia has pitched the sale of HERE to Apple, among other companies. The Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation would certainly stand to benefit from acquiring the technology that powers HERE, as its own attempt at offering navigation software to iOS users has not gone particularly well. Such a purchase, while extremely interesting for Apple, would have deep implications for HERE's current clients, which will most certainly not be favored by it. Here's what it could entail.

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When Nokia announced the availability of HERE on Google Play, it also announced that an iOS version will follow in early 2015. And today's the day when HERE is finally available on Apple's App Store.

Apple's iOS becomes the last of the major mobile platforms to get HERE, following Microsoft's Windows Phone and Google's Android. I've been waiting for this moment since I switched to iPhone 6 Plus from Windows Phone. Sure, there's always Google Maps, but its inability to work as well as HERE without an Internet connection is a major downside for me.

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In less than a week, HERE has seen two major updates. The first brought more accurate maps to Android and Windows Phone users, making way for turn-by-turn navigation in more countries. And the second brings a slew of improvements to HERE for Android as the app finally drops the beta label.

Having used HERE on Android right from the start, I have to say that there is little that I miss compared to what the app suite has to offer on Windows Phone. Still, this hasn't stopped Nokia from making some tweaks here and there. Here's what the latest update brings to the table.

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Detailing a partnership that was made public today, Finnish company Nokia revealed that its HERE division will provide maps to Chinese Internet services provider Baidu to use outside of its home market.

Normally, such an announcement would hardly garner any attention. However, it makes Baidu the first Chinese company that will offer location-based services to Chinese residents who are traveling abroad. That's a big deal. And Nokia is at the center of it.

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What is Nokia doing after ditching phone-making? The Finnish company is focusing its efforts on more lucrative endeavors, like HERE. Even though nowadays the brand is mostly associated with Windows Phone, Nokia also brought its well-known mapping software to Android and ramped up its efforts to make the web version more attractive as well.

The result of the company's work to improve the online version of HERE is said to be "a better, faster and stronger here.com", which packs some interesting, value-adding new features. However, there is also something in store (no pun intended) for Windows Phone users, in the form of an update which is available for HERE apps on the platform.

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HERE's upcoming availability for Samsung Galaxy smartphones was announced in late-August, and, at first, it appeared to be an exclusive launch. But, shortly after, Nokia's arm revealed that the app would actually be made available for every compatible Android smartphone "later this year".

HERE launched in beta for Samsung Galaxy smartphones only two weeks ago. For a first public release, the amount of features available is rather impressive, even for someone like me who is used to the fully-featured HERE suite on Windows Phone. And, now, everyone with an Android smartphone running any of the three Jelly Bean iterations or newer can also test what HERE has to offer (as long as the device has 1 GB of RAM or more), as the app's availability is extending beyond Galaxy smartphones.

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Today, Nokia officially brings HERE to Samsung Galaxy smartphones, expanding the reach of its powerful mapping software outside of Windows Phones and handsets that bear the Nokia branding. For the time being, the app is exclusively available in the South Korean maker's app store for Galaxy devices, but, later, it will make its way to other Android smartphones as well.

The HERE app may currently be labeled as a beta, but it does not skimp on features. It arrives with pretty much all the major features that Windows Phone users are enjoying from the HERE suite, which says a lot about Nokia's plans post-Lumia. Let's take a look.

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A map of the UK made entirely of Minecraft blocks has had an upgrade to include local roads, railways even people's houses.

Ordnance Survey, the creators of the map, has recreated 224,000 sq. km of Britain using 83 billion blocks, an increase on the 22 billion used for the original map. It means that each block now represents 25m of real-world Britain.

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The Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, there's a lot to see in Egypt. However, it may not be a place you wish to travel to right at this moment, though there are no official warnings against it from the State Department. Fortunately you don't need to make the trip now, thanks to Google.

Street View, the ever-growing portfolio of images from the Google Maps team, has visited the North African nation and captured the sites in great detail. Included are all of the things that drive tourists to this location -- Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, ancient burial grounds and more.

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