14 DAY TRIAL // If you’re a Windows Phone user, you probably use HERE Maps a lot. But the app you know and love today will exist under a different umbrella from now on.
According to a report coming from Finish website ITViiko, Nokia will stop developing the HERE Maps suite for Lumia handsets.
That sounds a little dramatic, but it shouldn’t necessarily be interpreted like that. Why? We’ll tell you about it in a few. In the meanwhile let’s take a look and see what is happening to HERE while the other OS platforms are concerned
After Android, Nokia HERE Maps is headed for iOS
Not long ago the app made its way into the Play Store, where it was downloaded a million times. That’s to be expected since Nokia’s application brings some pretty nifty advantages.
For example, users can store country or regional maps and unlike Google’s own Maps solution, HERE doesn’t constantly need to tap on your Internet connection.
The HERE application has been available for Samsung phones ever since October, through Sammy’s own app store.
Moving along, head of the HERE mobile development unit at Nokia, Udo Szabo said that the device maker plans to release a Nokia HERE app for iOS early next year.
Originally, Nokia wanted to launch the application by the end of 2014, but the plan didn't pull through.
Now, Nokia says it won't be upgrading the HERE application for its Lumia handsets in the near future. According to Szabo, Microsoft is currently paying their maps license fees, so from now on Redmond will be in charge of application development.
Basically, the map data is being licensed by Microsoft, so the company will be providing the updates instead.
As you probably remember, Nokia sold its mobile unit to Microsoft in 2013.
Therefore, before you start conjuring up gloomy scenarios like Nokia abandoning its Windows Phone fan base, this is not actually the case. The torch has just been handed down to Microsoft.
Nokia will continue development on Android and iOS platforms
With the Windows Phone affair out of the way, Nokia is free to focus on bringing more Android and iOS users onboard.
On top of that, Nokia will also be busy developing new products. Back in November, the company unexpectedly rolled out the N1 tablet bundled with Android 5.0 Lollipop and Nokia Z Launcher.
The tablet is a worthy contender to the throne of Android tablets and could even take the slice out of the iPad mini 3’s marketshare.
