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.
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