Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia Here collection vehicles aren’t the only way the Finish giant is gathering data about our highways and city streets. The company’s researchers are also using anonymous smartphone, PND and even CAN bus data to further our understanding of traffic flow and driver behavior in different conditions. Beyond improving maps and navigation, the goal is to make our roads better and cars smarter. We recently spoke with Nokia’s Jane Macfarlane, Head of Research for Here, who shared how her team is bringing map data to life with the collaboration of opt-in smartphone users and fleet vehicle operators. Take a look at our gallery below and watch the video after the break. %Gallery-slideshow73225%

Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Mobile, Nokia

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At its Nokia Lumia 1020 launch event, Nokia’s just announced a new version of its Here Maps app that’s bringing more features to Livesight location-based augmented reality. On top of letting you pan around on the view finder and see info for shops and other landmarks as before, you’ll also be able to tap the “virtual signs” in the view and see more details and similar location categories. As before, the app will work without a data connection, “much to the regret of our AT&T partners,” as CEO Stephen Elop put it. There’s no firm date for the update as of yet, But Nokia said it’ll hit all its Lumia devices when it does, as with all the recently announced Here updates.

Check out all the news from today’s Nokia event at our hub!

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Nokia

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If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, a new addition to the LG L-Series surfaced in Russia, a Lumia 920 was sighted that’d make Oscar the Grouch flip, and TalkTalk added three new devices from Huawei to its roster. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that’s happening in the mobile world for this week of May 27th, 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Software, Mobile

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After our interview with Peter Skillman last week we were given a brief tour of the Nokia Here collection vehicle, a bright blue Volkswagen Jetta Wagon specially outfitted with a smorgasbord of sensors. The main attraction is a retractable roof-mounted mast that collapses behind an aerodynamic fairing for stowage. From top to bottom, this mast features a military-grade GPS antenna, a 360-degree panorama camera in a white pod (which captures the spherical views you’ll see in Nokia Here), a Velodyne LIDAR unit in a spinning silver cylinder (for 3D mapping), high-resolution signage cameras in a black box (for forwards and backward automatic feature extraction) and finally a wheel encoder to measure distance / velocity. Sadly the car was locked so we were unable to check out what’s inside or go for a ride, but we’re hoping to remedy this at some point in the future. Until then check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.

Continue reading Nokia Here collection vehicle hands-on (video)

Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Internet, Mobile, Nokia

Nokia Here collection vehicle hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s revealed the next stage in its cartographic future and it involves a new cloud-based service. Titled “Here,” it’ll tap into Nokia’s map expertise and better still, work across multiple devices and operating systems — CEO Stephen Elop, attending the event in San Francisco, also referenced recent purchase of Earthmine, a 3D mapping company that will help the company offer StreetView-style digital vistas. The new web-based map (that’s live now) will work on any PC running Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome and Macs using Safari, Firefox or Chrome. On mobile, it’ll run on iOS 4+ and Android 2.2’s (or above) internet browser. According to AllThingsD, a free iOS app has already been submitted to iTunes, pending Apple’s approval in the ‘next couple of weeks’. Additionally, Nokia will have a Here SDK for Android and a web version of Here maps for Firefox OS ready by early next year.

Behind the glossy HTML5 exterior, Nokia reckons its “capture, compute, experience” system, and its cloud-based processing will offer a more potent offline experience. Nokia’s not stopping there, however. The Finnish phone-maker has apparently seen 75 times more use of its mapping data compared to last year, and it’s looking to tap into user-submitted data. A new Map Creator tool will let people assign more specific information and detail to Nokia’s original maps and satellite photos. The phone-maker’s already launched its own site for the new location service, Here.net, and aims to fold in users’ submissions into its own official map offering. Collections will let you store and share your favorite locations, while Explore (replete with its own map button) will let you know what’s available in the immediate vicinity. The maps will also contain all of the previous Nokia functionality, including live traffic information and transit directions.

Here appears to encompass most of Nokia’s previous mapping services and apps — take a look for yourself at the source below.

Update: We’ve got a few more tidbits about Here to share with you. It turns out, the iOS app will provide offline maps, voice guided walking directions and public transportation directions at launch. Additionally, Nokia revealed the name for the technology powering its City Lens app. Called LiveSight, it’s a 3D map technology that Nokia claims “provides the most precise and intuitive augmented reality experience” that we presume will find its way into other applications. PR with full details of all the cartographical goodness await after the break.

Continue reading Nokia announces new location cloud service for iOS, Android and others: It’s Here (update)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia

Nokia announces new location cloud service for iOS, Android and others: It’s Here (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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