I just downloaded and started playing around with the new Nokia Maps application, Here, for iOS (via Jim Darymple).

I can’t yet vouch for how much better or worse the accuracy of the maps data is compared to Apple’s own Maps app, but on sheer software quality alone there’s a world of difference. What I mean is Here feels like crap. Transitions are choppy, the color palette is cold (blue and grey?) and almost every time I tap to zoom in a level of detail all the tiles flicker while they re-render. Weird.

The experience seems to be consistently jerky on both my iPhone 4 and my iPad 2. If I didn’t know better I might attribute the choppy behavior to hardware deficiency, but since I’ve been using the native, iOS Maps app for over a month now, I know this can’t be the reason. Just compare the difference in Human Experience between the two and feel how much smoother Apple’s Maps app is.

Also, what’s the thinking (or lack thereof) behind the Here logo skewed at a 45 degree angle with the leg of the ‘h’ cut off?

The whole experience is leaving a bad taste in my OS.