Nokia rolls out free mapping

The Gadget Show  Thursday 21 January 2010

Free directions, thanks to Nokia

Nokia smartphone owners rejoice: as of now, your phone has been upgraded to a sat nav.

That’s because Nokia has just rolled out free turn-by-turn navigation to its Ovi Maps software for Symbian S60 devices, and not just here in the UK – simultaneously in 70 countries around the world, and in 46 languages.

Provided your phone is in signal range, you can get unlimited turn-by-turn directions for either walking or driving, with the latter including valuable traffic information – in 10 countries anyway – along with details on speed cameras and speed warnings.

Those on foot get info on 6,000 landmarks in 200 countries, with the software happy to guide you through parks or pedestrian-only spaces if it makes the routes shorter.

Even if you’re outside of signal range you can still access basic directions, as all the maps used are stored on the phone itself to keep data costs to a minimum. All new Nokias will be sold with local maps pre-loaded – with UK phones getting continental info too.

Nokia is following in the footsteps of Google, which launched its new Nexus One smartphone earlier in the month with free turn-by-turn mapping. But the Nexus One is only available in the US at present, as is the map coverage.

Anyone looking to update their phones can do so through the Ovi Store. It’s only for Nokia’s ten Symbian S60 devices for now, but a version for the all-new Maemo-powered N900 is set to follow before long.