Nokia has rebranded its Maps as HERE, making it a cloud based mapping and location service, accessible across multiple operating systems and devices. Nokia also announced the acquisition of Berkeley (CA, US) based 3D mobile mapping solutions company, Earthmine, and said that the company's reality capture and processing technologies will become integral parts of HERE's 3D map making capabilities. The exact monetary details of the acquisition were not disclosed but Nokia expects the transaction to close by the end of 2012. The company wants to extend its mapping solutions to other platforms, to extend their reach 'beyond Nokia'. Note that Nokia already offers web based mobile maps apps. However, it has now announced a new HTML5 based native app for iOS under the HERE brand, which will also feature offline capabilities, voice-guided walk navigation, and public transport directions. The app (after an approval from Apple) is scheduled to be available for free download from Apple's App Store in the coming weeks. Nokia also demonstrated an Android OS-based reference application and announced plans for the availability of a HERE SDK for Android OEMs in early 2013. This will allow developers to create location-based applications for Android devices with Nokia's map content. Nokia also announced a strategic partnership with Mozilla to bring new location experiences to the latter's Firefox OS. Nokia plans to debut a mobile Web version of HERE Maps for the new Firefox OS, next year. Our Take While the rebranding appears to be a move to make Nokia's mapping solutions relevant beyond the Nokia…
