Nokia, or Navteq has actually been building 3D maps for some time. Navteq has been building full 3D maps for about 3-4 years. Part of the team was bought out by Apple, team that worked on Apple Maps. Though this is not exactly what we are talking about here.
Yes tissotti, I agree. That is exactly why I said
ground-level 3D models...
What Nokia/Microsoft/Google/Apple have all been collecting are the typical birds-eye 3D models. Apple uses them for their fly-overs. I find them entertaining, but so far I haven't discovered any practical usage.
As you said, the data Nokia is collecting isn't about that. Instead, imagine something like street view, but being able to walk through it in 3D instead of just from picture to picture. That is what the data they are collecting could theoretically allow them to do.
Sounds like an enormous undertaking to me.
It's great if you are going for place that you are totally unfamiliar with. Just to see it all from the street level.
Different folks different strokes I guess
I go to places I am totally unfamiliar with at least five to six times a month and so far I've never felt the need to view the place before getting there. All I need is an electronic companion that can reliably get me to the entrance. That is why I see City Lens as more useful than street view...