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Nokia sets navigation free
Territories covered
Western Europe
Austria,
Belgium,
Denmark,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Ireland,
Italy,
Netherlands,
Norway,
Portugal,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
UK,
Central and Eastern Europe
Czech Republic,
Hungary,
Poland,
Russia,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
North America
Canada,
USA,
South and Central America
Argentina,
Brazil,
Mexico,
Africa and Middle East
Turkey,
Asia-Pacific
China,
India,
Japan,
South Korea,
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Published:
03-Feb-10
Nokia confirmed plans to offer its Ovi mapping software and services for free, starting with a selection of Symbian smartphones. Ovi maps includes turn-by-turn driving navigation, as well as walking directions, map updates, events, Lonely Planet and Michelin content. The service offers maps for 180 countries and navigation for 74 of them. Nokia maps was previously offered via a selection of flat, daily and monthly fees.
In late 2009, Google launched a free navigation service for its US Android handsets. Google maps has been globally free on all smartphone platforms since launch.
Our take...
With such a move, the rationale for purchasing a stand alone GPS device became even tighter than after Google's US launch of free navigation services. With a 74 countries coverage, there is very little room for companies such as Garmin and TomTom to sustain stand alone satellite navigation units sales over the long run. Garmin has therefore partnered Asus to branch into the phone hardware business, while TomTom is active in developing smartphone navigation software and accessories for smartphones.
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Analyst intelligence & notices
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