nokia maps

We last touched on a map refresh in late December when users were able to download OTA updates to their offline locations.

Today, Nokia Maps have received yet another update and once again, this applies to all Windows Phone 8 devices, not just Nokia. If you have downloaded maps on your phone, you should have already been prompted to update them for the latest batch of improvements. If you haven’t already, go to settings > applications > maps > check for updates.

The question you may be wondering is, what changed? We have the details.

Hot damn. Nokia has updated a handful of their Windows Phone 8 apps for the Lumia 820 and 920. Most of you are going to bed excited for ‘Portico’ to hit tomorrow, but now get even more. Nokia has updates in the Marketplace for Nokia Maps, Cinemagraph, Nokia Music and some audio settings. Read on to see what has changed.

Nokia have firmly established themselves as a major player in the Windows Phone market. Their devices have been consistently regarded well and their marketing efforts have seen them establish ‘Lumia’ as a powerful and recognisable brand in its own right.

With the advent of Windows Phone 8 we saw Nokia strive to produce the definitive ‘hero’ device of this generation. The Lumia 920 packs some serious specs and for some it’s seen to be the best device of this current crop of phones. It isn’t all about the speeds and feeds, it’s about a cohesive package consisting of exclusive apps, hardware and of course Windows Phone 8.

We've previously reviewed the Lumia 920, which is well worth checking out for the in-depth analysis, but it is from this perspective I’m going to look at how successful it really is.

Last night we noticed our 920 getting a few updates including Nokia Transit aka Transport and Maps. Nokia has now given some details on version 3.0, which also includes Windows Phone 8 support (basically just adding a double wide tile). 

The new Maps brings all sorts of goodies including offline support (it shares the offline downloads of Nokia Drive, saving space), venue maps (we can see our local mall) and it now gives you detailed walking directions. Heck, it will even hand itself off to Drive for car navigation, making Nokia’s apps a little more seamless.

A Nokia spokesperson confirmed today that the Finnish company has reached a deal with software powerhouse Oracle to provide mapping capabilities for Oracle's variety of applications. The deal is expected to be announced tomorrow at the OracleWorld conference in San Francisco. This is a big score for Nokia, but not too shocking, considering that Oracle has been locked in a legal battle with Nokia's chief location services rival, Google.

This deal is not the biggest one that Nokia has struck from a financial perspective, but because Oracle sells on the enterprise level, as opposed to single customers, it could open up plenty of opportunities for them. Nokia purchased digital map maker Navteq back in 2007 for $8.1 billion and has been heavily focused on expanding its foothold in the world of mapping and commerce.

Yesterday we saw a whole heap of information presented by Nokia covering hardware and services, with so much to get through some things were only touched upon. One such area was of Nokia’s plans for maps and directions. We’d previously covered Nokia’s goal to maintain leadership in location so this segment was of great interest.

During the keynote a much clearer insight into their plans for their location based apps coming in Windows Phone 8 was provided, and we think there will be some exciting advances heading to the platform. Indoor Maps, tighter integration of their current mapping apps and augmented reality improvements are all on the way.

You can tell that the new Batman movie the Dark Knight Rises is getting close for release as their partner in crime Nokia is ramping up promotions. They've already released The Dark Knight Rises app for Lumia phones, Lumia 710 covers and a Lumia 900 etched with the Batman logo, but it looks like the Finns still have more.

In a new video posted to their channel, Nokia teases a 3D immersive map of Batman’s home city with the tag line “Explore Gotham City like never before”.

Not much else is revealed about the tool, what platforms it will be on, if it’s for mobile or web…we just don’t know yet. A good guess though would be that this uses Nokia Maps and is perhaps web-based, so this may not be specific for the Lumia line of devices.

Alternatively, if we look at the Batman Origins comic app released today, we noted how there is a yet-to-be-released “The Dark Knight Rises: Prologue" app—perhaps this has something to do with that?

Either way, Nokia seems to have picked a winner in terms of marketing this summer as the final Batman movie looks to be a blockbuster.

Yesterday, Apple Inc. finally revealed their latest iteration of iOS for iPhone and the iPad.  There were no real "wow" moments just the continued rehash of market numbers and a collection of little improvements to the world-wide hit operating system.

We're not trying to be too bitter here--look, Apple and iOS have a massive success on their hands so they're not messing with a good thing (think of all the grandparents with iPhones!). But today's unveiling of the new iOS is starting to show that Cupertino may be out of "big" ideas for mobile and are instead concentrating on refinements. That's not exactly a bad thing and we don't necessarily blame them, especially with their strong market share. But it sure does make for some boring discussion.

Our friends at iMore were there for the whole event, turtlenecks and all, documenting all the new additions to the sixth version of the OS.  Due this fall, here is their summary of the major changes:

• Maps - Probably the biggest news was the addition of Apple's own Maps app which will be powered by TomTom. Maps will come stock with turn-by-turn navigation, traffic info, and a new feature called Flyover.
• Siri additions and enhancements- Siri received quite a few updates under iOS 6 including iPad support, integration with many car manufacturers, and several new features. 
• Passbook - Passbook is a brand new way to store and save airline apps, boarding passes, and more all in one place. Many different services and Passbook apps are already available such as express check at hotels, Target cards, movie tickets, coupons, and more.
• Photo Stream sharing - Photo Stream sharing will allow you to create separate streams (similar to how you'd create albums currently). You can then share those separate streams with whoever you'd like. Have one with family for vacation pics and one with mom and dad for baby pics. They'll also be given the ability to comment and like photos native in iOS.
• Mail enhancements - Multiple e-mail signatures, VIP Mailbox allows you to add all the important people in your life to a VIP list and their messages will automatically be filtered into a new VIP mailbox that appears under your default inbox.
• Facebook integration - In iOS 5 we saw Apple integrate Twitter into iOS natively. This year the same will happen with Facebook. Post status, upload pictures, and more without needing a third party app.
• FaceTime over the cellular network - FaceTime has only ever been available for us on a Wi-Fi network since it's release in iOS 4. iOS 6 is about to change all that and you'll soon be able to FaceTime wherever you are, Wi-Fi or 3G/4G.

Read more after the break for some exclusive Windows Phone 8 news...

Following the 2.0 update to Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps has been bumped to version 1.3 and is now available on the Marketplace. So, what's new? Nokia have expanded the reach of the service, with added support for more Asian countries. But that's not all as users can now personalise their favourite places on their Windows Phone, which can be subsequently pinned to the home screen.

Recent locations and destinations are listed next to the favourites for more convenient access to the app history. Should you require more "Places" to visit around your location, more points of interest are now displayed on the map. Lastly, users can now share routes and destinations via social networks (using built-in connectivity), which is an interesting addition.

You can download Nokia Maps from the Nokia Collection on the Marketplace.