Those who happen to swear by them Windows Phone-powered handsets from Microsoft tend to rest in the knowledge that this device holds one particularly strong point over the rest of its competitors, and that would be their HERE Maps suite. Well, it seems that this particular cutting edge will be no more in due time, since it has been said that Nokia will put a stop to the development of its HERE Maps suite for Lumia handsets.
Originally, HERE Maps, being a free offline voice-guided navigation was introduced as a dedicated app in the Play Store, has already picked up millions of downloads along the way. It makes plenty of sense after all, since HERE Maps will stash the regional and country maps locally on the device, as opposed to requiring a constant Internet connection – which would also chalk up insane phone bills at the end of the month if you happen to be roaming.
According to Udo Szabo, who is head of the HERE mobile development unit at Nokia, has mentioned, “Now we are developing applications on the basis of a realistic market.” Of course, Microsoft will continue to pay Nokia licensing fees so that they can make use of HERE Maps on its handsets, and they do look as though they will continue developing the app by themselves, too.