Google has reportedly been working on its Google Maps app for iOS, but it looks like Nokia’s beaten it to the punch. Nokia managed to gets its own maps app on the iOS App Store about three or four weeks earlier than expected, which is hopefully a much better, and much needed, alternative to Apple Maps. It looks like it’s already becoming a hit with iOS users, as this morning the HERE Maps app moved from No. 101 at about 8:50 on the App Store’s Free Download chart to No. 14 within an hour, at 9:50. Clearly people are looking for something new.
Nokia’s HERE Maps offers different views, including map view, traffic view, public transport line view and satellite view. It also supports offline maps, so you can still get to where you need to be if you lose your data connection, and it even has voice-guided step-by-step navigation for walking. HERE Maps has coverage in close to 200 countries.
It will be interesting to see how Nokia’s HERE Maps fairs against Google when it releases its much anticipated Google Maps app for iOS, which has been sorely missed since Apple introduced iOS 6. If you’re still looking for an alternative to Apple Maps, then you might want to check out HERE Maps on the iOS store by following this link.
