Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps) is a maps and navigation application for Android and iOS, and a desktop web mapping service by HERE Global B.V.. Originally developed by Nokia, the application was first released for Windows Phone and the web in 2014 as a revamped version of Nokia Maps. Here Maps was released to the Google Play Store on 10 December 2014 and later on the iOS App Store on 11 March 2015, and was renamed to Here WeGo in July 2016. Maps are updated every two or three months.
Video Here WeGo
Timeline, availability and compatibility
On 29 August 2014 Here was also launched for the Samsung Gear S, which utilises the HERE for Gear app specifically made available for Samsung devices.
As of June 2015 the Here app was available as a free app in 118 countries and territories across the world for the Android and iOS platforms.
On 3 September 2015 Here announced that its app would be available for the Samsung Gear S2 when the smartwatch is released later this fall.
In December 2015 Here, at the time a division of Nokia, was sold to a consortium of German automotive companies (comprising Audi AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG) as HERE Global BV.
On 15 March 2016 Here announced that it would discontinue support for its app for Windows 10 Mobile on 29 March 2016 due to its use of "a workaround that will no longer be effective after June 30, 2016", and that the existing Windows Phone 8 app will only receive critical updates after this date and no longer be actively developed. Here maps licensed by Microsoft are still offered as part of the existing Bing Maps-based software on these devices.
On 27 July 2016 the app was updated and re-branded Here WeGo; the update first launched on Android, and is to be followed by an iOS version and a relaunch of the web version. The update and rebranding focuses on navigation capabilities, including the addition of taxi fare information in some cities, and integration with Daimler's Car2Go service.
On 3 January 2017 Intel announced that it was acquiring a 15 percent ownership stake in HERE from HERE's indirect shareholders.
Maps Here WeGo
Features
Here WeGo provides turn-by-turn navigation in both offline and online modes. Users can enter a destination address, landmark, or business name, and then the app automatically calculates directions and distance to the destination. Real-time traffic data (where available) is also factored and a prediction made on arrival time to the destination.
Here WeGo formerly provided text-to-speech "Hi-Fi" navigation voices on Android, but eliminated them to focus on "bringing a larger variety of good quality voices instead of handful of Hi-Fi voices.".
Public transport data is displayed by the HERE app whilst planning a route, for transport options such as buses and trains. Walking and cycling routes are also supported. Time and distance estimates are provided for these modes, and driving navigation.
Full transit information is available in Switzerland, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, The Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, and Ukraine, and partial support for transport directions in other countries.
Real-time traffic and reversible lane traffic
As of June 2015, Here WeGo had real-time information on traffic conditions and incidents available for 50 countries, including the United States of America, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2015 live traffic data for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bulgaria, and Romania were added.
In late June 2015 Here added real-time traffic for reversible express lanes across the United States and Europe.
'Collections' and location sharing (sorting is not available)
Users can save the location and details of destinations as 'Collections'. Location can be shared by several methods, including the Glympse system, Google+, Facebook Messenger, email, and Twitter. As of 2017 10 23 there is no option to sort collections by name or distance in the web, android, and ios versions.
Offline maps
Here WeGo can download maps of countries to internal storage, so that a data connection is not needed. These maps can be used for navigation, searching, and route planning in the same way as live data, but online usage provides live traffic data and additional venue information.
The maps include floor-by-floor details of some large indoor venues such as shopping malls and airports.
Street view
Street-level views are not available at this time.
Future coverage
HERE for Android public beta
The HERE app was first announced as a beta test version for some Samsung Galaxy smartphones on 29 August 2014. The app was downloadable from 8 October 2014 from Samsung's Galaxy Apps Store.
The first public release of the beta HERE app (across all of the Android platform was on 21 October 2014, as an APK download from the HERE.com website. The app became available in the Google Play store from 10 December 2014.
On 12 February 2015 a stable version of HERE was released on the Google Play store.
On 9 July 2015 HERE launched a new public beta of its Android app.
Download statistics
Statistics published by HERE state that it reached 1,000,000 downloads on the Android platform a couple of weeks after launch and, 12 weeks after its launch, reached 2.5 million downloads, increasing to 3 million by mid-February 2015, and to 4 million through the Google Play store alone by March 2015. By 4 August 2015 Google Play downloads had increased to 5 million, and to 10 million by early 2016.
Previous versions
Symbian^3/Belle
HERE was available on the Symbian^3 platform under the name Nokia Maps. The latest, and the last, Version 3.09 included:
- Driving and walking turn-by-turn with international voice guidance
- Live traffic rerouting in some countries
- Live traffic visualisation on the map in some countries
- Third-party content such as ViaMichelin and Lonely Planet
- Social networking service integration
- Support for preloading street maps for offline use
- Users can report errors in the maps (from version 3.03 except on Nokia E66 and E71 models)
- Local weather conditions by the hour and forecasts for the week
- Night View mod
- Satellite maps and terrain maps
- 3D buildings and 3D maps
- Public transport routing in some cities
- Saving of favourites
- City Lens (augmented reality) (Beta only)
Nokia stated that the Nokia 808 from 2012 would be the last Symbian phone; Symbian development then stopped. Accenture was responsible for maintenance of Symbian and Nokia Maps until 2016.
The supported phones were:
- Version 3.09 (12 November 2012, also called Maps Suite 2.0): only for Symbian Belle phones (500, 603, 700, 701, N8-00, E7-00, C7-00, C6-01, X7-00, E6-00)
- Version 3.08 (15 November 2011) and 3.07: supported on Symbian^3
- Version 3.06 (2 December 2010): Symbian S60v5 (N97, N97 mini, X6, C6-00, 5800XM, 5235 & 5230, etc.)
- Version 3.04 (20 May 2010): Symbian S60v3 FP2
Asha/S40
Maps for S40 were limited compared to other platforms. The maps were streamed online into the device or pre-downloaded with Nokia Suite. In some markets the phones were sold with an SD card preloaded with local maps. The system did not support turn-by-turn navigation. Asha series phones did not have GPS receivers; positioning was done by Cell ID of the cellular network or by using the Wi-Fi positioning system.
See also
- Comparison of commercial GPS software
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia