HERE Maps Vs Google Maps Vs Apple Maps (Voice Turn-by-turn)

[tonybessette]

I was a long time Android user and was always very happy with their maps/navigation system. I absolutely LOVED the voice turn by turn with Google. I recently (five months ago) got the iPhone 5 and it's Maps with voice turn by turn is equally as brilliant....albeit Apple had a rough start when their Maps first came out....it's now tip-top.

The point of this post is that I'm about a week away from selling my iPhone 5....driving to the Orlando Microsoft Store, and buying the Nokia Lumia 1520. I was wondering if HERE Maps had a good voice turn by turn navigation system like Google and Apple does....if not HERE Maps, perhaps another Maps app? I am moving to the DC metro area in just over a month and I would very much like my 1520 to be equally a life saver as my iPhone 5 and Galaxy Nexus once were.

I have been doing a LOT of research on this OS switch.....and I am both excited and nervous. I'm pretty set up app-wise....99% of my must have apps are in the Windows app store....but Maps and a GOOD "voice" turn by turn navigation worries me. Plus I do hope this "Cortana" comes to pass......not that Siri is the end all be all of my iPhone, I hardly use her/it....but it would be sweet to have.

 

[Prasoon271]

Well HERE Maps work very well in India with good voice turn by turn navigation.. better than google maps

 

[jibreezy1982]

HERE maps/drive/transit all work very well in the u.s, I use them daily, no problems, better than google imo

 

[nokia6300]

I was a long time Android user and was always very happy with their maps/navigation system. I absolutely LOVED the voice turn by turn with Google. I recently (five months ago) got the iPhone 5 and it's Maps with voice turn by turn is equally as brilliant....albeit Apple had a rough start when their Maps first came out....it's now tip-top.

The point of this post is that I'm about a week away from selling my iPhone 5....driving to the Orlando Microsoft Store, and buying the Nokia Lumia 1520. I was wondering if HERE Maps had a good voice turn by turn navigation system like Google and Apple does....if not HERE Maps, perhaps another Maps app? I am moving to the DC metro area in just over a month and I would very much like my 1520 to be equally a life saver as my iPhone 5 and Galaxy Nexus once were.

I have been doing a LOT of research on this OS switch.....and I am both excited and nervous. I'm pretty set up app-wise....99% of my must have apps are in the Windows app store....but Maps and a GOOD "voice" turn by turn navigation worries me. Plus I do hope this "Cortana" comes to pass......not that Siri is the end all be all of my iPhone, I hardly use her/it....but it would be sweet to have.

nokia's here maps actually owns navteq, which supplies their map database to garmin and navigon. they've been doing mapping far longer than google and i think they are just as good as google maps.

 

[John20212]

nokia's here maps actually owns navteq, which supplies their map database to garmin and navigon. they've been doing mapping far longer than google and i think they are just as good as google maps.

Navteq is the leader when it comes to mapping, hands down; that is why the leading GPS manufacturers use their maps database. While Google might be ok, it does not come close to Navteq.

 

[nokia6300]

Navteq is the leader when it comes to mapping, hands down; that is why the leading GPS manufacturers use their maps database. While Google might be ok, it does not come close to Navteq.

And part of the reason why I want a Nokia lumia is the free navigation/maps. I was so impressed with Nokia drive on my N9 I knew I had to go back to Nokia after using my iPhone 4.

 

[rubenwidjaja]

I choose Here Maps
I love it

Google Maps, bahhh, in my city Google Maps sucks
always wrong in placing place and not accurate in position
even for the public important place like hospital, Google Maps show wrong place

Here Maps is the best

 

[Surendharan Muniraj]

Can here map be downloaded through web browser and installed as apps are installed thru SD cards??

 

[anon(123856)]

Here Maps / Here Drive is very good. I also use CoPilot CoPilot GPS | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States) which does some things better than Here and somethings not as good as Here. Google Maps is tough to beat but Here and CoPilot are both viable alternatives in my estimation.

 

[jeetu4444]

Here maps is the best out there now. I have been using nokia maps fr years now and its very easy and accurate. When ever I travel I download the country map and use it in offline mode and iam never lost in a new country. Nokia drive is also awesome perfect directions fast rerouting if we take a wrong turn. Trust make the switch u will be. Happy.

 

[paulxxwall]

Made the switch a year ago from android ,google maps, and here maps are awesome. Never has let me down!

 

[gray_liu]

It is a pretty good one. I live in China. I use it on my domestic travels as well as foreign trips to Africa and Europe, it works perfectly with its off-line maps. Off-line, pal.



Sent from my lumia720

 

[sym1a1a]

Can here map be downloaded through web browser and installed as apps are installed thru SD cards??

here maps are the default mapping app on all lumia phones, and are preloaded on the phone, they can be downloaded on non lumia windows phones thru the app store

 

[errole]

Here maps is great. The best best feature over iPhone and Android is it has offline maps. So if you don't have unlimited data, you never have to worry about going over and download the various countries maps.

 

[anon(123856)]

Can here map be downloaded through web browser and installed as apps are installed thru SD cards??

As stated above by sym1a1a, Here maps are pre-loaded on Nokia Lumias. Presuming your phone has an SD card, the maps can be downloaded and installed on the SD card if Lumia Storage Check beta is installed. Otherwise the maps are installed to the phones memory.

 

[Kevin Rush]

I use both HERE DRIVE+ (which is Nokias' GPS navigation App) and the NAVIGON USA App. They both use the NAVTEQ maps (owned by Nokia and used by many car manufacturers). Both speak the directions, turn by turn, as you drive. I don't think the basic HERE MAPS speaks the turn by turn directions? Both use their maps "offline" stored on your phone so they work when there isn't any internet service. The maps can be moved to a SD card if you have one. Both Apps are very good, but I do prefer Navigon. Navigon is a paid App and in my opinion, it is worth every bit of its full price. It goes on sale, occasionally. Navigon has great additional features such as lane change guidance, alternate routes, traffic avoidance, you can add intermediate stops along the way (find a gas station), it speaks the side of the street of the destination, it is integrated into Bing (just like HERE DRIVE+), and more...

Best Wishes, No worries.

 

[Guzzler3]

My only beef with Here Drive, is it only says "You have reached your destination" when your done. I want it to say "You have reached your destination at (and then say the address or what-ever you were going to)".

Otherwise, it works much better than Google and iOS, for me.

 

[tgp]

I've had a bit better experience with the accuracy of both Google maps and Apple maps over HERE maps, but HERE wins hands down with the ability to download for offline use. Now, if you have plenty of data and mainly drive where coverage is good, this may not be as much of an advantage. But a lot of people will find it very convenient. I do. In the US, Google maps is hard to beat. Waze is integrated, and it now shows traffic incidents & accidents, which helps with ETA and routing. But even so, HERE is plenty good, and the offline feature puts it over the top.

 

[tonybessette]

Thanks everyone! I am very excited for the switch...I just need to sell my iPhone 5 to help pay for the outright cost of the 1520 (it's on craigslist right now).

I have no doubt that HERE Maps is superior to Google Maps or Apple Maps.....I was just (and am) hoping that the voice turn-by-turn is as good as, if not better that Google and Apple. I hate looking at the phone to know where and when to turn, lol....or how far ahead "until" the next turn.

 

[hopmedic]

I will not go so far as to say that Here Drive is the best (in my case, I'm using Here Drive+, which is not on all Nokias - the lower-end phones have Here Drive). For one thing, I haven't used Google maps in a very long time, and I also have never used an iPhone. While Here Drive+ is very good, it does leave some features to be desired. My 2006 Garmin dash unit with maps that haven't been updated in five years can add via points to my route, and when I am arriving at my destination it tells me the address and puts it on the screen, and also tells me which side of the road it is on. Both of these features I would love to see in Here Drive+, and have suggested through Nokia Feedback. I've moved several times in the past six years, so I do use my GPS quite a bit.

I also am one who uses other GPS apps as well. I've tried Waze and uninstalled it. Great concept, but a HUGE battery suck, even diminishing charge while charging in the car. Inrix works, too, and I have used that. The latest that I'm trying out is CoPilot GPS (mentioned above), which I believe uses Inrix' traffic and map data, but I think does a better job. It beats Here on traffic data, and suggests alternate routes based on traffic as well. I believe Here and CoPilot are the only two that I've used that allow for downloading maps for offline use. Here, being a first party app, can store those maps on the SD card if you have one, while CoPilot cannot, as third party developers are not able to write to the SD card. This is a restriction in the SDK, but hopefully it will come with WP8.1 and the SDK that comes with it. It would be nice if CoPilot could use the Here Maps that are already downloaded, but they don't. For that reason I've only downloaded my region into CoPilot, while I have the whole US in Here. It would also be nice if Microsoft would modify its own system so that you could go directly from a search to Here Drive+, rather than go through Bing maps, then Here, as it would be fewer taps to get to where you want to be.

Like I said, Here Drive+ is very good. It isn't perfect, but Nokia updates it fairly often, too. I would not be afraid of coming to Windows Phone based on need for turn by turn voice-guided navigation. It's there.