When Microsoft acquired Nokia’s hardware division, they did not get all of Nokia’s assets. One team to remain under the Nokia badge was the HERE mapping division, and it’s quickly become a favorite of Windows Phone users, bringing terrific turn-by-turn directions and downloadable maps to Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Reported today by The Next Web, a Nokia Executive Sean Fernback was quoted in regards to future HERE development:
“today we still maintain the [HERE] Windows Phone apps, it has our brand on it so we need to look after it, although we’re not particularly investing in them at the moment, that could still change. With the Nokia X program, we were authorized to continue to work on it until about now really, but that work is about to cease. I think there have been a number of different programmes that have continued through the year onto different platforms, but now it’s just going to focus on the two – Android and iOS.”
We’ve known that HERE Maps would be making a transition to Android, specifically on Samsung devices, and it would make sense that the team would be turning more resources to the newer (and larger) platforms. HERE Maps is not leaving Windows Phone, but for fans of Microsoft’s OS (and ostensibly Nokia’s hardware) a reduction in support could be a worrying proposition. There are already precious few outlets developing for the WP platform.
