Nokia launches free Ovi Maps navigation service

Nokia announced it will introduce a new version of Ovi Maps including free walk and drive navigation tools, a move the handset giant claims could nearly double the size of the current mobile navigation market. According to Nokia, the revamped Ovi Maps will include both vehicular and pedestrian navigation features including turn-by-turn voice guidance spanning 74 countries and 46 languages as well as traffic information for more than 10 countries and detailed maps for more than 180 countries.

Clearly Nokia is hoping this move will position it to better compete against Google. In late 2009, Google launched the free Google Maps Navigation service for its Android operating system. On a conference call with reporters, Tero Ojanpera, Nokia's executive vice president of services, said that the company believes its solution is better because it is less bandwidth intensive than Google's solution. "Our maps are preloaded making it easier for consumers to use," he said. "Other solutions are bandwidth intensive."

Nokia's move also will likely have a big impact on third-party navigation software providers which charge $5 or $10 per month to subscribe to their service and specialized device makers such as TomTom and Garmin. 

Nokia says that by eliminating the costs associated with navigation, it can quickly activate a large user base for new location-specific features, content and services, a development in line with the social location component of its Ovi Store, which seeks to offer consumers a customized and contextually relevant user experience determined by factors like personal contacts and physical whereabouts. Citing Canalys research indicating that approximately 27 million mobile subscribers worldwide were using GPS navigation on their phones at the end of 2009, Nokia says it can potentially grow the size of this installed user base to about 50 million, adding it has already shipped 83 million GPS-enabled devices.

Ovi Maps is available for download now across 10 Nokia handsets, including the Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia E72. Beginning in March 2010, all new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps, preloaded with local country map data, walk and drive navigation and access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides. 

For more on the free Ovi Maps:
- read this release
- check out this video