Nokia Corp said on Thursday it would offer free navigation services globally for users of its smartphones in a drive to counter a similar move by Google Inc.
The application, with detailed maps for more than 180 countries, will also have voice guidance in 46 languages in 74 countries.
It will be immediately available for download on Nokia’s Ovi Map site, and from March all new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps. Users will also have free access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides that have information on more than 1,000 destinations globally.
“We can now put a complete navigation system in the palm of your hand, wherever in the world you are, whenever you need it and at no extra cost,” Nokia executive vice president Anssi Vanjoki said.
“By adding cameras at no extra cost to our phones we quickly became the biggest camera manufacturer in the world. The aim of the new Ovi Maps is to enable us to do the same for navigation,” Vanjoki said.
The announcement follows a similar move by Google Inc to provide free navigation services on handsets. It also will pose a challenge for makers of personal navigational devices, like US-based Garmin Ltd and TomTom NV of Netherlands, that help car drivers plan where they want to go and how.
Nokia’s share price closed up less than 1 percent at 9.23 euros (US$12.98) on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
The mobile phone industry has been hit hard by saturation in markets — especially in Europe — and the global financial crisis, forcing handset makers such as Nokia to increasingly turn to providing services for users, such as music and video downloads, navigational maps and games.
Nokia said that by next year, it expects about 300 million active users of its services.
Nokia said that research firm Canalys estimated that last year, about 27 million people worldwide were using the global positioning system, or GPS, on handsets.
The Finnish company’s new service could increase the number of GPS navigation users to 50 million, through a download of the new Ovi Maps available immediately, Nokia said.
“This move has the potential to nearly double the size of the current mobile navigation market,” Nokia said. “The new version of Ovi Maps includes high-end car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance.”
In an US$8 billion deal, Nokia in 2008 bought US navigation-software maker Navteq Corp, a major provider of digital map data and content.
In October, Nokia reported its first quarterly loss since it became the world’s biggest handset maker in 1998 and said it would focus on smart phones, based on “user experience improvements,” to help it boost performance.
In 2008, Nokia sold 468 million handsets, up 7 percent on 2007.
It maintained its No. 1 position in the third quarter last year, with a 38 percent global market share and sales of 108.5 million handsets.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS