Nokia Maps v/s Google Maps v/s Apple Maps

So the Iphone 5 came along and brought with it Apple Maps and well according to user experiences it sucks and is full of flaws, well I’d like to say one thing that for a company that’s doing it for the first time Apple Maps are not bad, but then for a phone that’s hyped like crazy and priced at even crazier levels, the Maps are abysmal.

Well, so now we have people across the board coming up with their opinion on which Maps are better.

Well, for the uninitiated, there are basically four major companies that provide digital maps to devices across the globe Navteq(which is owned by Nokia), Google , TomTom and OSM(Open Street Maps) and surprisingly Google is not the biggest player here, but Nokia’s Navteq provides it’s Mapping services to the most number of devices across the world which includes cars( it powers majority of the high end cars, even Bing and Yahoo Maps use Navteq), standalone GPS units and mobiles. In the mobile space obviously Google rules with number of Android devices alone and well Apple Maps are powered by TomTom and no Garmin does not provide maps, it merely makes GPS systems and sources it’s Maps from Navteq.

Note: Apple Maps in no way reflect the quality of TomTom Maps, TomTom just provides the data  and it’s completely upto Apple how to implement it. 

I won’t include OSM in the comparison because I think only the Nook  uses them and frankly I have never used them to have an opinion.

So, well lets see how Apple , Google’s and Nokia’s Map offerings compare with each other:

Turn by Turn Navigation:

1. Nokia Maps: Yes, and having tried them personally I have to say they are pretty accurate and well available in 110 countries with not many glaring omissions.

2. Google Maps: Well , they were available in a few countries across the world, Google just introduced them in India a while back and having used them too have to say they are just as accurate , but Turn by Turn navigation is only available in 39 countries.

3. Apple Maps: They offer turn by turn navigation in 56 countries (which doesn’t include India) and well according to most user experiences are hilariously inaccurate.

Live traffic updates

1. Nokia Maps: Yes, it provides live traffic updates in around 26 countries (including India) and it works pretty well.

2. Google Maps: It does provide live traffic information too in 47 countries(including India) and works equally well, maybe a little better.

3. Apple Maps: Well , it provides live traffic information as well in 23 countries (No India) and I have no idea how good it is.

Offline Navigation:

1. Nokia Maps: Provides full offline navigation, where maps of entire countries or continents can be download on your phone and you can use your GPS without a data connection( is a God send when you are roaming) and I’ve always used it offline, works great, takes a few minutes more to catch a signal offline then when online but once you get a signal , the experience is the same offline or online and yeah the entire India Map is only around 700 Mb in size , so downloading it won’t take any major space on your phone.

2. Google Maps: Provides offline navigation, but in a wierd way as in you can only download maps of your city and that too only within a few metres , so  really unless you have planned your trip upto the last detail and only plan to move within a specified area can this kind of offline navigation work, but yes because of the accuracy of the maps it works pretty well within the maps you have cached.

3. Apple Maps: Does not provide offline navigation .

Indoor/Venue Maps

Well this is the next big thing in mapping , Indoor Maps, where if you are inside a mall or airport you can get details of where things are located within the place you are in.

1. Nokia Maps: Is betting big on Indoor maps and is part of some sort of alliance with all the major players in navigation and in the mobile space including Samsung to develop Indoor Maps, currently provides indoor maps for 38 countries, but the number is likely to go up.

2. Google Maps: Provides Indoor Maps in 4 countries.

3. Apple Maps: No Indoor Maps.

Well, with almost everyone now having a smartphone with GPS capabilities , location is going to be the next big thing in this space, because once an individuals location is known, advertising can be done even more precisely and accurately. So , purely from a marketing point of view, the possibilities are endless in this space and may become as big as advertising on Social networks, no wonder Apple decided to go alone and ditched Google Maps.

From a consumer point of view, these mapping services are God sent while travelling in a new city or going to a previously unknown place and really with a smartphone with in-built navigation you really no longer need a stand alone GPS device.

One thing is for sure, with the Apple Maps fiasco, Maps have become a major selling point for smartphones and in the future will be a major differentiator for smartphone makers and something consumers will definetely consider before purchasing a smartphone.