The New York Times’Bits blog reports today that Nokia has announced that it will be releasing an iOS maps app called Here. The app will be free to download, and according to Bits, it reflects the fact that Nokia is rather proud of its maps technology. In fact, Nokia even published a blog post during Apple’s iOS 6 Maps problems a few weeks back, in which it favourably compared its own maps with Apple’s and Google’s. Nokia’s mapping database has information on 200 countries, and is one of the central features of its Lumia smartphones. Bits asks, why would Nokia want to give away one of the vital ingredients from its own, poorly selling smartphone? Well, according to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Nokia’s mapping platform needs to have lots of users in order for it to stay competitive. In fact, the more people use Nokia’s maps to look up directions or find locations, the smarter the mapping will become, so it is beneficial to Nokia in the long run to have an iOS version of its mapping. Elop also said that Nokia can still give the Lumia phones exclusive features that are not available in the other apps, such as the City Lens feature in current Lumia phones which enables you to see data on screen when you point the camera at something in the real world, such as seeing restaurant reviews when you point your camera at a particular restaurant.

Source: Nokia to Offer Its Maps for iPhones and Android Phones - NYTimes.com