Nokia City Scene isn’t just another mapping service; it’s a 3D-rich mapping experience. With a new update for Nokia N9 users, Nokia City Scene from Nokia Beta Labs is the perfect companion when roaming a city.

The first thing you’ll notice when using Nokia City Scene is that it looks a little different to the Nokia Maps you’d usually use to navigate around a city. Yes, you’ve still got the same navigation expertise and easy to follow maps but now you’ve got the chance to explore the city in full panoramic 3D.

When you select a destination your journey is split up into visual waypoints that updates as you progress on your journey. These real-life visual images show you exactly where you are at a glance and means there’s less time needed to study the map; you just need to look for the similar landmarks displayed on your screen.

Some larger buildings even show you what other smaller venues are inside. For example, a shopping mall is one building but is made up of several smaller shops. With Nokia City Scene, you’ll be shown all the venues contained within from the outside.

You’ll be able to keep up-to-date with your friend’s check-ins on Foursquare or Facebook and see exactly where they are on the map. If there’s a image of that location, you’ll be able to view it in realistic detail, as if you were there with them. If you like, you can then navigate to where that friend just checked in to meet up with them.

If you’re planning a big day out and don’t want to be connected to the Internet all day, you can prefetch all the panoramas onto your Nokia N9 before you go. This will keep data costs and traffic to a minimum, allowing you to only focus on enjoying your trip.

At the moment, Nokia City Scene covers London, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, New York, Newark-Jersey City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle with plans to expand that list further.

Download Nokia City Scene today and check out the beautiful 360º panoramas and the un-matched Nokia Mapping navigation experience.

Remember, any app from Nokia Beta Labs isn’t a full commercial version and you may encounter bugs. But the more feedback the Nokia Beta Lab team receives, the more they can fix or improve the service for you. So, once you’ve downloaded and given it a try, head over to the Nokia Beta Labs and give feedback.

Have you used Nokia City Scene? Tell us what you think of it, below.