According to a report from Bloomberg, Nokia is targeting Apple as a potential buyer for its maps business. Nokia has recently been trying to sell its HERE Maps division due to it losing revenue. The report claims that Nokia is seeking around $3.2 billion for its maps business. Nokia first bought the mapping assets in 2008 for $8.1 billion.
If you were wondering why Nokia’s HERE maps app for iOS disappeared from the App Store earlier this month, today the company has issued an official statement on the situation. While citing issues with iOS 7 that “harm the user experience,” Nokia unfortunately does not go into detail about specific problems with the development of the app for Apple’s latest version of iOS. It does, however, point users to the official web app, which is essentially the same experience the company wrapped into the iOS app minus many of the bugs users reported with the release of an iOS 7 update. No word on if Nokia will bring back the native app at any point, but for now we get the following statement issued to the TheIndianExpress (via Engadget):
“We have made the decision to remove our HERE Maps app from the Apple App Store because recent changes to iOS 7 harm the user experience. iPhone users can continue to use the mobile web version of HERE Maps under m.here.com., offering them core location needs, such as search, routing, orientation, transit information and more, all completely free of charge.”
While a native Google Maps iOS app has yet to hit the App Store, Nokia said today it plans to release a new free maps for iOS under the “Here” brand in the coming weeks. “Here” is a cross platform effort for mapping applications that the company described as “the first location cloud to deliver the world’s best maps and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems.”
San Francisco, California – Today Nokia introduced HERE, the first location cloud to deliver the world’s best maps and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems. With the new brand, HERE, Nokia aims to inspire a new generation of location services and devices that make the mobile experience more personally significant for people everywhere… To further extend its location services, Nokia is launching a maps application for iOS under the HERE brand.
The new HTML5-based iOS app, also called “Here”, will arrive in the App Store in the coming weeks and feature “offline capabilities, voice-guided walk navigation, and public transport directions.”
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