Nokia Navigates New Map Strategy with Launch of Here

Nokia has put its mapping unit front and center with the introduction of its Here cloud-based location brand and platform, which was unveiled during a media event. Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop said that maps and location experiences should inspire to sense our the world. He added that the quality and quantity of data available will enable Nokia to transform mapping in ways they haven't even thought possible yet and Here is also being built to be span on most mobile operating systems and devices.

For instance, Nokia revealed that it will be rolling out an SDK for Android during the first quarter of 2013. The Lumia maker is also jumping on the opportunity presented by the kerfluffle surrounding Apple Maps with Here Maps for iOS, which will debut in the next few weeks. Nokia has also formed a new location-focused partnership with Mozilla based on HTML5. Michael Halbherr, head of Nokia's location and commerce unit, posited that building such product a requires a great deal of scalability as it will be updated based on user-generated data as well.