Nokia Maps 3D Is Now Not Only Gorgeous but Also Practical

Google has dominated online mapping ever since Google Maps came about and its Google Earth plugin didn't really have any competition. Online mapping isn't a particularly lucrative business either and it's quite expensive, not to mention hard, to maintain and evolve this type of service.

Which is why the fact that Nokia seems determined to create a worthy competitor is a good sign. Of course, considering the amount of money the phone maker has poured into this, there's no room for mediocrity here.

Earlier this year Nokia debuted Maps 3D, with a self-explanatory title. It enabled users to explore the world in three dimensions. Like Google Maps' Earth View, it requires a plugin to be installed, but it's probably worth it, Nokia Maps 3D is gorgeous.

But gorgeous doesn't win you faithful users, so the latest update, which adds navigation and a lot more data to the 3D maps is the most important yet.

"In the 'Search' field you can enter addresses, businesses and point of interests. We find everything for you and you can see it in 3D. You will feel like you were already there. Details such as business hours, pictures, reviews, specials, and ratings are also shown, if relevant," Nokia explained.

"When you find the place you are looking for, you can obviously plan a route there with walk or drive directions. Everything in 3D," it added.

The feature only works in 25 cities for now, quite a few in Europe, several in US but also places like Cape Town or Sydney.

Nokia Maps 3D's standout feature is the quality of the graphics, the models are great and the photo-realistic textures are quite impressive. But that's not worth very much if all you can do is enjoy the sights. With the new features, Maps 3D becomes a practical tool.

Doubtless, Nokia plans to add even more features to its mapping tools, so it should be interesting to see how the competition heats up in the space.