Navigation and maps

Nokia has found a vulnerability in Apple's armor, and it's taking advantage.

The mobile company yesterday posted a blog on its site discussing the value of its mapping applications. Although some gloating might have been warranted, Nokia just couldn't help itself from taking a few swipes at Apple and Google.

"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," the company wrote. "In other words, we truly understand that maps and location-based apps must … Read more

Google is planning to offer up its Maps application to iOS users, according to a new report.

The Guardian reported last night, citing sources, that Google is working on an application that will be available through Apple's App Store. That application will likely deliver the same Google Maps experience users had in previous versions of iOS.

Apple sent shockwaves through the mobile space earlier this year after announcing that it was removing Google Maps from iOS 6 and replacing it with its own Maps program. After iOS 6 launched earlier this week, Apple's software was quickly criticized for a host of errors and omissions, … Read more

We've been hearing a lot of stories around the Web about how the Apple Maps app in iOS 6 is proving to be a poor replacement for the former Google-powered Maps app in iOS 5. Some of the stories say the Apple app doesn't show certain roads that are obviously there in real life, while others say they've followed directions to a destination and found that they didn't end up where they wanted to go.

For the first post in the series, CNET editors Jason Parker and Jaymar Cabebe took the turn-by-turn navigation through its paces … Read more

It's only been a day since iOS 6 went live, but the world has sounded with a Greek chorus of complaints over the new Maps app made by Apple.

In case you don't already know, iOS 6 makes a big change in your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch's mapping features. It removes the Google Maps app that you've long used and replaces it with Apple's home-baked mapping service. At first, you may not notice the change since the app's icon, and much of the interface looks almost the same. Once you try to use … Read more

Google Maps is adding some fine art to its database, as it today gives Android users indoor maps for more than 20 U.S. museums. Joining the more than 10,000 indoor maps already available on the service are floor plans for the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, 17 Smithsonian museums, and the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Whether you're conducting a Google Maps search from afar or you're standing at the doorstep of a supported museum, you can … Read more

Hot on the heels of the Siri announcements coming out of 2012 WWDC, Android users get a little good news of their own. Software startup Magnifis released Robin, a voice-activated natural language mobile assistant for Android devices.

Robin is like a mashup of Siri and Waze. It's a voice-controlled mobile app designed for drivers to use in their cars. Like Waze, it's motion-activated rather than button-activated, which is easier for complying with distracted driving laws and using on the road, and it can proactively warn you about upcoming traffic or speed traps. It also remembers questions you ask, … Read more

At an invite-only press event in its San Francisco office, Google today made a few big announcements regarding its ubiquitous mapping and navigation programs, Google Maps and Google Earth. While not everything they showed off is quite ready for the public yet, we do have some initial thoughts on the announced updates.

Offline Google Maps for Mobile Even though I haven't played with this feature yet, I can already say Offline Maps is going to be hugely useful. Travelers especially should be ecstatic, as they will be able to cache specific areas and boot up Google Maps while traipsing … Read more

Nokia wants you to know that it's one of the biggest mapping companies you didn't know about. In fact, when you add its in-car, Web, and mobile presence together, it's pretty much king of the maps.

Nokia's mapping platform powers Yahoo services and increasingly gives Microsoft's Bing its cartographic data.

Thanks to its Navteq buy in 2007, Finland's finest claims an automotive presence in more than 80 percent of in-dash navigation modules and after-market devices.

"We're basically the world's largest mapping company," Hans Peter Brondmo, head of innovation for Nokia'… Read more