Nokia has unveiled its new free turn by turn Ovi Maps service for all compatible Nokia smartphones. This service is said to be available to all users globally. The emphasis by Nokia is “Free Navigation on your Nokia. For Free. For Ever.”
The features which Nokia’s Ovi Maps will include in fact makes not only the likes of Garmin, TomTom, Co-Pilot vulnerable but also Google Maps Navigation…
- Ovi Maps will be available to over 180 countries, which by far exceeds that of what Google is offering (only USA officially)
- Ovi Maps will offer free turn by turn navigation in modes including by car, by foot
- When using driving mode, there will be lane assistance, traffic information (in 10 countries including the US), safety camera and speed warnings
- In pedestrian mode, users will be guided on shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones in over 100 cities worldwide
- Maps are absolutely free, map updates will also be available in due course
- Weather reports
- Events guides
- Lonely planet guides
- Michelin guides
- Most importantly, Ovi Maps will work offline, this is a crucial kick in the a$$ for Google. This allows Nokia phones to reserve as much battery life as possible while using the app. Additionally, users won’t be racking up international roaming charges / data charges and be able to avoid getting lost in places where there is poor quality data signal.
Phones which are compatible so far include Nokia X6, Nokia N97 mini, E72, E55, E52, Nokia 6730 classic, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic, Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition, Nokia 5230. But as you’ll expect, there will definitely be many more upcoming new phones to support this. In fact, from March 2010, all new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will come installed with the new Ovi Maps application and pre-loaded with local country map data.
If you’re a Nokia user with one of the above phones mentioned, you can in fact head over to the Nokia link below and download it now.
[via Nokia, Engadget, GadgetVenue]
Check out some of the demo videos below…
