Includes car and pedestrian navigation features.
Nokia said that it plans to release a new version of Ovi Maps for its smartphones that includes free walk and drive navigation service, in a move that is expected to raise competition among GPS players in the industry.
According to Nokia, the new version of Ovi Maps includes car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries, as well as maps for more than 180 countries.
Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president of Nokia, said: "Unlike the legacy car navigation manufacturers, we don't make you buy maps for different countries or regions even if you're only visiting for a few days. We offer both navigation and maps free of charge, with all the high-end functionality and features that people now expect."
Nokia said that the Ovi Maps uses a hybrid technology that is optimised for use on a mobile network. It believes the removing of the added costs for consumers, will enable operators to offer their customers a complete car and personal navigation package. The new version of Ovi Maps uses a fraction of the bandwidth of the bitmap technology, by using vector graphics, plus a combination of pre-loaded and online maps.
The company said it has given selected developers and publishers a preview of the Ovi APIs and SDK - Beta (software development kit), and expects this to enable them to build navigation applications on a mobile.
Ovi Maps is available for download for 10 Nokia handsets, including N97 mini, 5800 XpressMusic and E72. From March 2010, new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps, pre-loaded with local country map data, with walk and drive navigation and access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides at no extra cost.
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