Nokia confirms HERE Maps for Android after job ad raised smartphone speculation

Nokia has confirmed that it is currently working on a version of its HERE Maps app for Android after a job ad raised speculation the Finnish mobile phone giant could be working on an Android smartphone.

The LinkedIn job ad, now removed, was for a “Principal Software Engineer [of] Embedded Linux Middleware” overseeing “embedded Linux device software and hardware drivers for our exciting new products”.

Nokia’s interest in “embedded Linux device software” initially provoked surprise, given the Windows Phone 8 platform (used on its Lumia 920 and 820 smartphones) is not based on embedded Linux. However, embedded Linux forms the basis of a number of other smartphone platforms, most notably Android and Jolla’s MeeGo-based Sailfish platform.

This prompted news sites such as Gizmodo to speculate the mobile phone giant could be “making a tentative, exploratory move into Android territory”.

However, Nokia’s head of media relations, Doug Dawson, put the speculation to bed with a tweet explaining: “Our recently posted job is linked to our HERE Maps support for other platforms, including iOS and Android. Nothing more”.