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Nokia's new maps app hits iPhone, doesn't quite satisfy

Nokia
Nokia

You may be itching for an app to replace the Maps app Apple threw into iOS 6, but Nokia's new Here Maps app likely won't scratch you the right way.

Nokia's app offers plenty of points of interest (which are sometimes scarce in Apple's version), live traffic information, turn-by-turn navigation, public transportation information, and more. But unfortunately all those features are built on top of an app so aesthetically displeasing that folks who are used to Apple or Google's mapping solutions might feel as if they stepped into the wrong century.

While beauty is in the eye of the beholder and most could look beyond the Here Maps app's antiquated user interface, its odd quirks are likely deal breakers. The app is oddly slow at times, public transportation directions are often questionable for even the simplest of routes, and the app seems to favor the scenic routes far too often. What's the point of a navigation app if it takes you from point A to point C to point D before finally circling back to point B?

I thought that my experience with Here Maps might've been unusual or that perhaps I missed something significant, but it appears that I'm not alone in my disappointment. The Verge's Aaron Souppouris declared that "the wait for a true Google Maps replacement continues" after testing the app and finding it to display "some buggy behavior." Wired's Alexandra Chang called the app "a buggy eyesore" and TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington cautions that its "not entirely without its own rough edges."

Long story short? Since the app's free, you might as well give it a shot. Just don't expect to have your mind blown, 'cause this one won't fill the void Apple left in our hearts when it yanked the Google Maps app from iOS.

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