Nokia Launches Free Mapping Alternative for iOS: 'HERE Maps'

Last week, Nokia announced that they would be launching extending its mapping service to iOS with a new free app. Nokia's new HERE Maps app for iOS launched last night, promising offline mode, transit and walking directions:

HERE Maps helps you feel like a local anywhere you go. See where you are, search and discover nearby places, and get a feel for the place. Collect places to remember or for later discovery. Explore new destinations and know instantly how to get there on foot, by car or on public transport. HERE Maps is based on the world-class NAVTEQ mapping data used in 90% of in-car navigation systems in the world.

Features include: 

• Map views – Pick the map you need from map view, live traffic view, public transport line view or satellite view 
• Save map areas & wander without data coverage 
• Maps, search and place coverage for nearly 200 countries 
• Step-by-Step voice-guided walk navigation 
• Walk navigation through pedestrian routes, parks, alleyways, and more 
• Public transportation and driving directions 

The Verge spent some time with the new app, and came away with mixed impressions.

Obviously this is Nokia's first stab at an iOS client for its new mapping service, and in many ways it's more functional than Apple's native Maps client, but for now, many of the additional features don't work as well as they ought to.

Nokia's iOS map launch is significant due to the issues many users have had with Apple's Map application that ships with iOS 6. Apple's solution has drawn considerable criticismdue to incomplete data and poor coverage in many areas. 

Apple Television, iPad Mini, MacBook Air Speculation for 2013

BusinessInsider relays a report from analyst Gene Munster. Munster has been one of the most vocal proponents of an Apple television set with multiple claims that Apple is indeed working on such a device. 


In the latest report, Munster pushes back his own predictions for the delivery of an Apple television set to November 2013. This comes shortly after flip flopping claims that the Apple television is not launching imminently. 

Business Insider outlines Munster's other predictions for Apple releases in 2013.

- March 2013: iPad Mini with Retina display, update the little Apple TV box, allowing to do accept apps from developers, and some sort of iTunes radio product. 
- June 2013: WWDC brings us previews of iOS 7, and OSX, as well as MacBook Airs with Retina displays. Look for Jony Ive's influence over iOS to start showing up here. 
- September 2013: iPhone 5S, a "modest upgrade" from the iPhone 5. The iPad Mini gets a specs bump, and we get a new iPad, which is totally redesigned to look more like the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. 
- November 2013: An Apple TV comes out. It should cost $1,500-$2,000 and come in sizes from 42-inches to 55-inches

We see these predictions as simply educated guessing on Munster's part, and don't place much faith into the specifics, but it does serve as an interesting discussion for what Apple might offer in 2013.

Apple Job Listing Suggests Siri Coming in 9 More Languages

Apple is looking for interns fluent in a number of different languages to work on Siri internationalization, according to a job listing first spotted byBelgian site Apple Nieuws Vlaanderen (via 9to5Mac).

The job listing, for Cloud Services Engineering Interns, asks for interns native or fluent in Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Korean, Norwegian, and Swedish to work on "delivering Siri in different parts of the world." Languages where Siri is currently unavailable on that list include Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.


Siri is currently available in English (US, UK, Australia, Canada), Spanish (US, Spain, Mexico), Chinese (China-Mandarin, Hong Kong-Cantonese, Taiwan-Mandarin), French (France, Canada, Switzerland), German (Germany, Switzerland), Japanese (Japan), Italian (Italy, Switzerland), and Korean (Korea).

Kids and Adults Want iPads More Than Anything Else This Holiday Season

According to a survey done by Nielsen, U.S. consumers aged 6-12 are significantly more interested in purchasing Apple's iOS products over the next 6 months. The new Nintendo Wii U took the #2 spot, but lagged well behind the iPad. Meanwhile, the iPod Touch, iPad Mini and the iPhone rounded out the rest of the top 5 most wanted products for this age group. 

Approximately half the children surveyed expressed interest in the full-sized iPad (up from 44% last year), and 36 percent in the new iPad Mini. The iPod Touch and iPhone are also coveted devices among these young consumers (36% and 33%, respectively). Kids are also likely to ask for dedicated gaming hardware this holiday, with 39 percent excited to own Nintendo’s just-released console offering, Wii U, and 29 percent indicating they want a device from that company’s portable DS family. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 also proved appealing, with approximately one-quarter of kids 6-12 saying they want these high definition consoles.

Nielsen also surveyed persons aged 13+ and found the iPad also topped that list. The remainder of the 13+ year old list was less dramatically in favor of Apple than the 6-12 year old group. 

In a separate survey of (presumably) adults, Reuters found that one third of U.S. consumers were thinking of buying a tablet this holiday season. Amongst those who wanted a tablet, the iPad was again the most popular with 25% of respondents planning to purchase one. Second and third place went to the Kindle (15%) and Samsung (15%) tablets. Finally, Apple's new iPad mini came in at 8% amongst respondents.

iOS 6 Fixes iMessage "Bug" that Sends Texts to Stolen iPhones

Last December, an apparent bug appeared in Apple's iMessage service that caused iMessages to continue to be linked to a stolen iPhone. The customer's messages would continue to arrive and be sent from the stolen phone even after changing passwords, a remote wipe, and a SIM card deactivation. Apple initially denied it was a bug, but did later compensate at least one affected user for her trouble. 

TheNextWeb now reports that that iOS 6 resolves this issue by forcing all devices to re-enter credentials if your Apple ID settings change.

According to a source with knowledge of Apple’s steps to correct the matter, the issue has been fixed in iOS 6 through a variety of checks placed on iMessage. The most important of these is that Apple now uses its push systems to force a user to re-enter a password to use iMessage once your Apple ID credentials have been changed.

Now, if your iPhone is stolen, simply changing the password of your Apple ID will force the stolen device to prompt for a password in order to continue receiving and sending iMessages from your account. In addition, wiping your iPhone remotely using Find My iPhone will now disable the stolen device from receiving iMessages.

Apple Posts Two New iPhone 5 Television Ads, 'Orchestra' and 'Turkey'

Apple just posted two new iPhone 5 television ads. The ads are entitled 'Orchestra' and 'Turkey'. Orchestra focuses on the microphones that Apple uses to reduce background noise during calls. Turkey shows off the Shared Photo Stream feature of iOS 6. 

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3qBaTYNKluM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Excuse me, maestro? Bring it down please! 
Better. 
That's what happens to background noise when you're making a call on this. 
This microphone here picks up the sounds around you and helps turn them down. 
So when the world gets noisy, calls sound better.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2xHquhlr45w?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Well, it's that time of year again. 
You know, picture taking season? 
And, with Photo Stream, you can share all the photos you want. 
With just the people you want. 
It's as easy as pie. Mmmm… pie.

OS X 10.9 to Include Siri and Maps Integration

Earlier this month, MacRumors had reportedthat early logs have indicated that Apple is already testing early builds of OS X 10.9. 

With OS X 10.9, Apple appears to be continuing the theme of bringing iOS features into OS X. According to 9to5Mac, early builds are showing that both Siri and Maps are being integrated into the newest version of the Mac operating system.

Early builds in testing of the next-generation Mac operating system, OS X 10.9, point to Siri and Maps integration coming to Mac computers next year, according to our reliable sources.

Apple already offers Dictation and Text-to-Speech, but Siri integration would presumably offer Mac users voice-command and search functionality to Mac users. 

Meanwhile, Maps integration indicates that Apple will offer the service to developers to incorporate into their own Mac apps. Its not clear whether or not Apple would offer its own stand-alone mapping app for the Mac. 

A release date for OS X 10.9 is currently unknown, but Apple has stated that is moving toward a more rapid development cycle on OS X. If Apple follows their pattern for OS X 10.8's launch, we could see early OS X 10.9 developer previews in early 2013 and a final release in the middle of the year.