Nokia's free Ovi Maps tops 1 million downloads in first week

Nokia announced its new Ovi Maps navigation application exceeded 1 million downloads within its first week of release, adding that the free app is now averaging one download per second, 24 hours a day. Released in late January, the revamped Ovi Maps includes 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. According to the Ovi Blog, total downloads already top 1.4 million, with more than 20 percent of downloads originating from China. Nokia adds that beginning next month, all of its new GPS-enabled devices will include the new version of Maps, arriving preloaded with local country map data and access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides.

With the announcement of Ovi Maps, Nokia claimed the introduction of the free service could nearly double the size of the current mobile navigation market. The move positions the handset giant 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, Nokia's executive vice president of services Tero Ojanpera 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 services, as well as specialized device makers such as TomTom and Garmin. 

For more on Ovi Maps' download totals:
- read this Ovi Blog entry