Nokia finally brings HERE Maps to Android, will be exclusively available for Samsung Galaxy smartphones

Yesterday, we told you that HERE Maps, the mapping service that is still under Nokia's wing, will arrive on Samsung's Gear family of Tizen-powered devices. It will feature turn-by-turn navigation for pedestrians and a few other functionalities of the HERE goodness. But it seems that Nokia won't get satisfied with smartwatches alone, as it was just announced that HERE Maps will be exclusively-available on Samsung Galaxy smartphones for free.

Some of the strongest and most notable features of Nokia's HERE Maps is that it supports offline navigation thanks to your device's in-built GPS. This allows you to explore the map and navigate yourself to a desired location without an Internet connection, and Nokia touts that you can use all features of HERE Maps on Android while being offline.

The app will allow you to download detailed maps of various areas, regions, or even countries (more than 200 are available for download as of now). Said maps are kept on your device and pave the way for fast access. More than 100 of the maps in question allow you to make full use of turn-by-turn navigation, while 40 of the maps will provide you with traffic information (we suppose that this feature won't work offline, though). HERE Maps will work in a seamless concert with Glympse, too.

Nokia says that it is planning to endow the HERE Maps app with “more great features in the following months”, however, there is no word when the app will be available for more Android devices. Nokia's HERE Maps will be available for supported Samsung smartphones and smartwatches for free once the recently-unveiled Samsung Gear S hits the shelves, which is scheduled for October.

Any thoughts?


source: HERE Maps via Reddit