For N9 owners, seeing or exploring another city may not require too much effort after the introduction of the Nokia City Scene app. Currently in its beta version, the app encompasses about ten cities from countries like the U.S. and the UK.
The Nokia City Scene application is aimed at giving users a full view of the selected locations or cities, somewhat on the lines of Google Street View. Users can select one from in the Featured City list and go on exploring right from their Nokia N9. Also, the view is not limited to the streets, but it takes users inside buildings or malls, so they get a better idea of what hides behind those walls.
Presently, the beta version boasts of cities like London, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Newark-Jersey City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle, which the Nokia team is expected to expand soon. While most cities featuring in this list are located in the U.S., ironically, the nation is not in the race to officially receive the N9 handset.
The application on the Nokia N9, offers a completely interactive and panoramic street view of the selected location. This is done by blending NAVTEQ street imagery, building models and terrain data. The onscreen arrow promises to give a detailed look of buildings, streets and more.
The app is not only limited to exploring cities, but it lets users share it with friends as well. This is achieved by the integration of a postcard feature which allows people to share the image of a place and its address.
The Nokia City Scene app for the N9 can be downloaded from Nokia Beta Labs. The app is expected to gradually roll out for other handsets from the Finnish manufacturer as well.