14 DAY TRIAL // Owners of Windows Phone 8-based Nokia Lumia devices can now get more out of the HERE Maps application and service that Nokia has loaded on their smartphones, as the software has been updated with some new features packed inside.
Available for download as version 3.3.354.8 at the moment, the new HERE Maps app comes with LiveSight integration, after Nokia’s City Lens app received the technology about half a year ago.
Courtesy of this enhancement, users will be able to enjoy a combination of sight recognition, accurate 3D models of the real world, and live map information, meant to keep the virtual and real worlds connected.
LiveSight takes advantage of the augmented reality technology included in Lumia devices and uses a phone’s camera viewfinder to reveal what’s around.
“HERE uses sight navigation as a new way to discover and find your way through the world. Sometimes pins on a map are not quite enough, LiveSight uses sight to recognize and identify places around you simply by looking around through your phone’s display,” a post on Nokia Conversations explains.
“In HERE Maps, LiveSight allows you to pinpoint exactly where you’re going just by looking. Just open HERE Maps, tap the LiveSight icon and pan around. LiveSight reveals shops, restaurants and your favourite places as virtual signs on buildings right on your screen.”
Furthermore, the new flavor of HERE Maps for Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia devices comes with integrated compass, which will show users which way they’re facing, enabling them to find their way around much easier.
“HERE Maps with LiveSight is about getting you where you’re going quickly, even when there are no house numbers or if all the buildings look alike. So LiveSight in HERE Maps lets you literally see your destination,” the aforementioned blog post explains.
At the same time, Nokia notes that LiveSight in HERE Maps has been designed to work when in offline mode too. Owners of Lumia handsets running under Windows Phone 8 should search for the updated app in the Nokia collection section in the Windows Phone Store.