Nokia comes out swinging after Apple's rocky iOS 6 Maps launch
Summary: It's handbags at dawn after Nokia seized the chance to make hay after a rare misstep by Apple, trumpeting its own maps efforts and accusing Cupertino of prioritising form over function.
Nokia has pounced on Apple's rocky launch of its new Maps app for iOS6 to trumpet its own mapping and location service features.
Apple dropped Google Maps for its own Maps apps when it released iOS 6 this week. It's been a far from smooth transition, with Apple's homegrown maps app attracting numerous complaints from users, less than impressed with examples of odd rendering, out of date maps and locations that are just plain wrong (the German city of Berlin being relocated to Antartica is one notable example.)
Shortly after Apple's maps app hit the headlines, Nokia released its own benchmark poking holes in the mapping features the Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple's iPhone 5.
Nokia took a swing at Apple's photorealistic maps, saying that "pretty" doesn't cut it for the "must have" mapping experience, and adding the mapping for its own flagship device, the forthcoming Lumia 920, will be the only service that truly functions offline. Samsung's, which uses Google Maps, does partially via caching, while the iPhone 5 needs a connection.
"Unlike our competitors, which are financing their location assets with advertising or licensing mapping content from third parties, we completely own, build and distribute mapping content, platform and apps," wrote Pino Bonetti on Nokia’s official Conversations blog.
In another dig at Apple, Nokia said the Lumia 920 will also offer public transport directions across over 500 countries -- a feature Apple's Maps currently lack -- while its voice guided turn-by-turn navigation had the most comprehensive coverage in the world.
The Finnish handset maker needs maps, along with other features like its PureView camera and glove-friendly touchscreen, to deliver the differentiation it desperately needs to convince customers to switch from platform leaders Android and iOS.
"Our superior apps are built on the most accurate, automotive-grade Navteq maps, meticulously developed by over 20 years of know-how," said Bonetti -- a reference to Nokia's $8.1bn 2007 Navteq acquisition.
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Talkback
Kudos Nokia
There SHOULD be differentiation in the smartphone market. Smartphone makers SHOULD be pushing the reasons why their product is better than the competition's. Apple does it all the time and they are cheered for it.
I challenge you Apple fanbois, CHALLENGE you to congratulate Nokia on this approach.
Is that map of reality distortion field?
LOL!
Maybe the SAF was his power source?
We probably differ in that in my masterplan Apple still exist, but for today we are on the same side, and we shouldn't be surprised either.
Back in the early days of iPhone I got one of the first Nokia attempts at a smart phone, I wont't lie there were many issues, but I have always remembered their navigation technology.
We are probably talking a good 5 years ago, but I had actual GPS, not assisted, and a maps app as good as google maps was on iPhones on tuesday.
Now of course it was a bit gimmicky, and realistically that gps killed my battery in 3 or 4 hours, but at the same time brilliant. Sure most people don't share my enthusiasm for knowing their height above sea level, or their exact distance covered, but in the middle of the lakes I loved it, and hung on to that "tempory phone" for a while.
To be honest, the fact that the iMaps app wasn't finished is shameful for such a big company, but I'm not letting google off either - sure dtreet view is amazing, but I never found the app so; clumsy and slow were my impressions by comparision; and that's both the iPhone and Nexus apps.
It's good to see nokia being more vocal lately; as I say I'm due a new phone, but I've never found the choice harder, and that's frankly awesome.
....
Which approach? It is just matter of who has better collection of databases
Of course, for now Apple is the weakest of three. Considering that Apple did not spend $8 billion for mapping that was already done by others and just started, they do surprisingly well.
RE: DDERSSS
Exactly. And the example in this blog shows where.......
Apple is Evil! Boycott Apple! They are nothing but an Evil Empire built atop an army of lawyers working to help them monopolize technology they've taken from others.
The head theif, who said "We shamelessly steal great ideas" is no longer there to make sure that matra is upheld.
Excuse me...
As far as the iOS 6 maps, obviously the product was not finished and it may have been a hasty move to release it. However, Apple did not want to be stuck with Google maps for another two or three years, as their current contract expired. I bet the maps will significantly improve over the next several months...
Your not excused......just misinformed
your customers service comment is very funny. People like yourself believe Apple can do no wrong. just because you can go get a new phone or tablet every time something goes wrong does not mean it is a quality product. In fact the very idea that they can just easily give you a new one and the amount of pure profit earned should throw up red flags.
That being said Apple products are very nice. A little to bland and restricted for my liking but still a solid simple product that looks good. However it is when people like you attempt to justify overpaying for a product by claiming it to be the best that is just unnerving
Excuse me
As to your last point, 'not finished' is a bit rich. Its not like transit information is missing, or walking. Tthe coordinates of MAJOR cities are all over the place, let alone other land marks. The map dataset is not even 10% of what it should be, the key fly over feature renders are extremely limited, in most cases completely asbent. Coming from one of the most cash rich companies on Earth, it is an absolute joke and not a very funny one. What is funny however, is how predictably the sacred suckered will flock to defend something so useless because it comes from their mother ship.
Nokia is flailing and IT owns 8 billion dollars worth of a maps company. This is chump change to Apple. Where is Apples reinvestment in their userbase? Where are the improvements? You may have an A6 CPU in your handset there, but on top is the same tired old iOS and around is the same black bezel. If you want to know why so many people dislike Apple SO much, then this is pretty much the iconification of those reasons in a single result. There is never anything new or exciting in Apple land - it just stays the same gets a lick of paint and gets resold. Everything they sell is half baked and over priced.
In 2012
I'm guessing your excuses don't hold true in reverse
Am I close? ;)
Apple did not build their own
Granted they were not as established as Navteq (and I'm sure they cost a lot less) but it's not like the started working on this from scratch.
Siri was purchase by Apple, and it was done by others, so, I fail to see
In a competitive environment, purchasing other companies is one way to stay ahead of the competition.
The point that all of Apple's map purchases costed like twenty times less
Of course for now Apple's maps are weaker, but we can talk about effective investments.
They are effective investments only when they work.
If they fail to get people to do what they where intended to do, then it is known as an "ineffective investment".
This looks to be both.
Oh, and how do you know what Nokia and Apple spent on their maps?
I read that Apple spent twice as much as Nokia did, for apparently half of of what Nokia got.
"Billions"? Apple only spent like $300 million on all three mapping ...
Apple's purchase of map might have been lower, but now, it's costing them
So DDERSSS, your argument is......
By following your logic, OS X would be just as lacking considering they paid nothing for it. In classic Apple style, along the way they've conned open source into building features or extensions then cut the team loose and ran with their code.
Karma has a way of catching up, and Apple found that out when their Mythical "inpenetrable defense shield" that apple backers have crowed about for years met up with reality and now the extremely large Mac botnet is just one example of Apple getting it's a$$ handed to it.
Is the RDF weakening?