The big Nokia Event , held in UK, has kicked off as specified earlier, Nokia has unveiled the revamped Ovi maps. Coming back to the event in UK, no new devices were launched but one of the main announcements was of Nokia bringing Ovi maps turn by turn navigation to its smart phones and its FREE!! This will help Nokia to compete with Google who has done the same for its Android based smart phones. Nokia presented next Generation Ovi Maps at this event. Nokia Navigation will be compatible with X6, N97 mini, E72, E55, E52, 6730 classic, 6710 Navigator, 5800 Xpressmusic, 5800 Navigation Edition, 5230. Also, Maps and Navigation will now be free to users and it will be faster than Google maps. [ Via ] Its surprising that, Nokia N97 and Nokia N900 does not make it to the list. N97 is not supported as the Ovi Maps 3.3 requires 20MB of free disk space on C: Drive. Nokia will be using Navteq Maps across all its smart phone platforms. The free new Ovi Maps will give users, Free Drive navigation, Free Walk navigation, Free maps and map updates, Free Events guides, Free Lonely Planet guides, Free Michelin guides. As of now Ovi Maps 3.3 has 6,000 3D landmarks in over 200 cities and Lonely Planet, Michelin guides give you information of over 1,000 destinations. Once installed on your smart phones, you will get access to world wide pedestrian and in-car navigation maps. In terms of cost the software is free and Ovi Maps will also save on your data costs as it does not require a constant GPRS connection, thus much better than Google Maps. The maps in Ovi Maps will be in smart hybrid vector format, which are efficient and load faster than typical map images you get. New Ovi Maps will also have smart weather apps, event guides etc making it a one stop location guide. Not to forget that there are hundreds are developers out there who will now have more to give for Ovi Maps 3.3!! Also, from March 2010, GPS-enabled Nokia smart phones will come pre-loaded with this fresh version of Ovi Maps installed.
This indeed is a big announcement from Nokia and can be a game changer in the mobile maps space. Nokia was anyway facing competition from Google with respect to mobile navigation and with this free maps thing and such awesome features, the competition has become more cut-throat. Going ahead, Nokia will have a google street view kind of feature in Ovi Maps and it will also be coming to India. I am not sure how that thing will work on the super crowded streets of India but I am certainly looking forward to it. In car navigation will also becoming soon, but it will take time. Update - N97 will get new Ovi Maps with the new Firmware upgrade in Future and Ovi Maps for Maemo is also coming, so N900 lovers, be happy!!
Here is what Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's EVP had to say , "We want to make using your mobile for navigation as familiar as using it to send a text or take a picture. We believe that making the best maps with voice guided navigation available for free will be the catalyst to do this. Why have multiple devices that only work in one country or region? Put it all together, make it free, make it global and you have something that is truly useful and can help you get round almost any city in the world whether you're on foot or driving." Check out the video of the actual Live Press Event for Ovi Maps announcement from London.
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