Disqus
Nokia has released a beta version of their Ovi Maps application that finally brings it somewhat on par with what Google has been offering for some time now. With version 3.06 there’s pinch to zoom support added, sadly only for Symbian^3 devices though, the ability to check-in to various location based services such as Foursquare or Facebook, and the feature I’m looking forward to the most: public transportation navigation. Now whenever I mention Ovi Maps I get a ton of hate mail because I still highly recommend people use Google Maps. The one and only feature that Ovi Maps has that makes it worth it to some people is the ability to store maps on your mobile phone. Meaning unlike Google Maps, who constantly streams map tiles to your device, you can realistically use Ovi Maps without an internet connection.
Oh and there’s the whole free navigation thing. That’s a big one if you’re driving a car … but for the people who mainly use their feet or bicycle to get around, turn by turn navigation is a little overrated, if not excessive. The thing that keeps on holding me back from recommending Ovi is the terrible search engine. You’d think that when you spend a little over $8 billion on a company that does maps they’d also have a massive points of interest database, but you’re wrong. Search for “supermarket” on a Nokia N97 here in Finland and it’ll tell you to check out a Walmart in Tennessee. Search for “bar” and it’ll show you the bars that have the name “bar” in them, but nothing else. It’s pitiful to the point of confusion as to how the Ovi service got through user testing.
I salute the team in Berlin who are working on Ovi Maps. You get better and better with each and every release, but sadly so does Google. And they release a hell of a lot more often than you do. Stop adding features, fix search.
[Via: All About Symbian]
About The Author
Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.
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