Nokia has just announced that they will be providing its very own navigation app for free, making the likes of Garmin and TomTom run for their money.
But unlike the GPS navigation on the iPhone, which leaves you at the mercy of your cell signal, the Ovi Maps function just like a standalone GPS. Maps are preloaded on the phone and are saved there forever. So in case you get lost and so is the signal, you can retrieve the map right from the phone.
The Ovi Maps can also support AGPS, so you get driving and walking directions, as well as guides from Michelin and Lonely Planet. With this app, your phone can also receive weather updates and desktop software that would manage and search routes. All of these can also be accessed even while offline.
Owners of Nokia smartphones can download the app today the Ovi store, we repeat, for free. Do note, however, that not all models are supported.
Nokia’s own headline sums this story up pretty well: “Navigation on your Nokia. For free. Forever.”
That’s right. If anyone thought that Garmin, TomTom and any other standalone GPS makers were already in trouble after Apple allowed turn-by-turn navigation on the iPhone, now the world’s No. 1 phone maker is giving away a full suite for any compatible Nokia handset, anywhere in the world. And not only is the application itself free: so are those usually lucrative maps and updates.
Free is fantastic and all, but what’s really important here is the fact that the maps are stored on the phone, not trickled to your device from a network. See, when you download Google maps on an iPhone or Android device, you’re at the mercy of of your cell signal. No bars, no map. But Nokia’s model is the same as a dedicated GPS unit: The maps are pre-loaded onto the phone and reside there permanently. In a place where the network doesn’t reach? No problem, maps are available. Don’t want to squander your data plan? No problem, maps don’t suck up kilobytes.
If you have Nokia smartphone, you can grab the download today from the Ovi store (not every handset is supported — the N900 is not on the list, for instance). Along with AGPS support, you get driving and walking directions, Lonely Planet and Michelin guides, weather updates and companion desktop (browser-based) software to manage and search routes form the comfort of a big keyboard. Best of all, the maps are available offline, unlike Google Maps on the iPhone.
Seriously, who would want to be in the satnav-selling game right now? If I had TomTom or Garmin shares (and I don’t), I would be selling them right now.
Ovi Maps [Nokia]
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