Nokia has launched a free map and navigation system that downloads straight to your mobile phone, and which could save drivers hundreds of pounds. The new system could also heavily damage the well established market for the stand-alone sat-nav devices, potentially making these bulky machines obsolete.
It could also become more of a problem for conventional sat-nav manufacturers if Nokia’s rivals respond with similar applications and business models of their own.
The sat-nav software, Ovi Maps is free to download for all current and new customers who use a Nokia SmartPhone, and works by storing maps on the phone, cutting down the need to update and download new maps over the network. And once the sat-nav maps are loaded, Nokia’s phones do not need a network connection to use the application unlike other phone based mapping systems.
Nokia’s Ovi Maps application offers maps that span over 180 countries, and also includes turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation for 74 countries in 46 languages. It also features travel information, along with speed camera and speed limit details, and Facebook users can also update their profile to show their ‘live’ location. Information from Lonely Planet and Michelin Guide will also come pre-loaded with the software.
It is estimated that 83 million active phones are able to use the service, so if you own a Nokia SmartPhone, get to the Ovi store within the Nokia website and download the application.
The system was launched on the 21st January, and within one week, Nokia have seen 1.4m global downloads of its satellite navigation Ovi Maps application. Following on the success of the sat-nav system, Nokia plans to extend the reach of Ovi Maps further after their decision to embed the application is all new GPS-enabled SmartPhones from March.
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