Fast GPS, free maps from Nokia
Nokia just announced a very big deal.
Actually, the big deal was really announced awhile back when Nokia told the world that they had purchased a company called Navteq who, in their own words, are “a world leader in premium-quality digital map data and content.” They boast that their mapping data can be found inside most in-vehicle navigation systems sold in North America and Europe.
Nokia’s been pretty quiet about their plans for Navteq up until this morning when they announced that Navteq maps would now come free with Nokia’s GPS-enabled phones.
Available as immediate downloads for ten Symbian OS phones (access for additional phones is coming soon), the new Ovi Maps application promises turn-by-turn travel (driving and walking) instructions for free for the life of your Nokia phone.
OK, you say. Other phones also have GPS inside. True, but not as complete as this. The new, free, Ovi Maps app can get you where you want to go in 70 countries. It also offers free map updates plus free Michelin, Lonely Planet and events guides as well as providing up-to-the-minute weather forecasts.
Did I mention it’s free? This cannot be good news for the Garmins and TomToms of this world.
I had to try it for myself to see how it works. I “navigated” to the proper Website on my N97 Mini test unit (http://www.nokia.mobi/mas/download), selected my phone – downloaded the installer and let the phone do it’s thing. The entire process took something like two minutes.
I started the newly installed Ovi Maps program – pressed the “My position” button on the screen and within 1 second the phone told me exactly where I was standing. I’m not exaggerating – it was that fast.
That’s important because Nokia/Navteq’s new Ovi Maps system is completely loaded inside your phone. Pinpointing your position on a map is nearly instantaneous. The current Google/Android map solution, while very good, has to constantly download new map information to your device slowing down the process in the process.
In very early tests, the Nokia mapping system is accurate and fast. I’ll take it out on the road this weekend to see how annoying the voices helping with directions can become (a problem with nearly all GPS systems).
Free GPS maps could just be the boost Nokia needs to have some of their newest phones subsidized and sold by U.S. cellular companies. Even if that’s not the case, having super-speedy GPS in your smartphone at no extra cost could make the price of unlocked Nokia devices a lot easier to swallow.