UPDATED 10:26 EST / DECEMBER 27 2013

NEWS

Nokia pulls HERE Maps off Apple App Store

Nokia has pulled its HERE Maps app from the Apple App Store for reasons not so clear.  In a statement, Nokia said that Apple’s new iOS is doing more harm to the HERE Maps user experience than good, thus the app pull out.

“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 location needs, such as search, routing, orientation, transit information and more, all completely free of charge,” Nokia said in a statement.

Funny thing is, when Apple released its own half-baked Maps app, and its CEO Tim Cook recommended fanbois use other navigational apps instead of Apple Maps, Nokia was one of those that quickly delivered an app that actually helped people get to where they are going.

But Apple has since improved its maps offering, almost catching up with Google Maps on iOS.  Unfortunately, this meant other apps took a backseat, and that includes Nokia’s HERE Maps.  It seems like Apple’s focus on perfecting its own maps offering caused problems for rival apps.

Nokia was so pissed that it even took a jab at Apple’s holiday ad.  In Apple’s holiday ad, Misunderstood, it featured a teenage boy who’s consumed with using his iPhone instead of having fun with his family, but in the end, he showed that he was documenting everything that’s happening, which resulted in tears of joy from other members of the family.  But Nokia sees things differently, tweeting a cartoon of how the holidays have greatly changed because of smartphones.  Nokia has a point, because even though the kid documented his family, the fact remains that he wasn’t really in on all the fun, because he was behind his iPhone, instead of in the video or photo having fun with his family.

But doesn’t Nokia also sell smartphones?  The Nokia team should have thought hard before tweeting that pic, people might get the wrong idea and not buy Nokia smartphones instead.


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