Ovi Maps Rendering API enriches your apps with rich map data

An article by Nokia Devs    4 Comments

After a long wait, and multiple queries, Ovi Maps released the official API to integrate maps in all mobile applications: the Ovi Maps Rendering API.

The API is published as a public project on Forum Nokia Projects, allowing developers to have full support from the Ovi Maps team, via the discussion boards, Wiki pages and the integrated ticket system.

You can use this service to display a given geographical position, points of interest, routes, turning points, junction views etc. The necessary data such as position, radius, zoom level, map type etc. are specified by parameters as part of simple URL requests. The created URL containing these data can be shared via SMS. It is also possible to embed the resulting map images into your own applications.

Until today, two of the main option for developers to integrate maps in their apps were represented by Google Maps, that raised several discussion regarding its allowed usages, and Ovi Street Maps, whose implementation was never so straightforward.

Being based on simple REST calls, Ovi Maps Rendering API allow for a simple integration on all Nokia technologies, so we can expect for rich map applications to come out in the nearest future.

If you want to start using Ovi Maps in your application, here are the next steps:

1. read the documentation overview
2. check out the usage examples
3. and take a look at the full API reference to start coding

We’re curious about your experiments with Ovi Maps rendering API, so if you want to share your first experiences and thoughts about this API, drop us a line!