It all started in 2006 when Nokia realized that Navigation is going to be big given the popularity of their then flagship Nokia N95 and it’s follow-up Nokia N95 – 8 GB both of which were the first phones to feature GPS and changed the way we look at mobile phones today .
The purchasing spree started in October 2006 with acquisition of Gate5 AG , a leading supplier of mapping, routing and navigation software and services” in October 2006 . Earlier the maps were available for both WinMo and Symbian Series 60 .
In October 2007 , Nokia made another significant purchase by acquiring NAVTEQ , it’s supplier for mapping data used in Nokia Maps . These maps at their early stages were not very comprehensive especially for Pakistan (http://oure61.blogspot.com/2007/03/nokia-maps-for-pakistan-is-not-correct.html ) where I’d been using them since 2007 with my E70 and Bluetooth GPS receiver .
On July 15th 2008 , Nokia focusing on Map based services acquired Plazes to have access to their “context-based service offering with social presence and time-based activity planning features”
On Feb 9th 2009 , Nokia announced it’s acquisition of Bit-Side GMBH , ““Acquiring bit-side enables Nokia to offer consumers the world-leading mobile location applications, such as Maps, along with routing and navigation at an accelerated speed” was what Michael Halbherr, vice president and head of social location, Nokia had said about the acquisition (http://senseapplied.com/index.php/nokia-acquires-bit-side-gmbh/)
If that was not enough on Sep 24th 2009 , Nokia acquired Dopplr , a social travel startup where people can discuss their travels experiences within their select group of friends , the service could be part of OVI Maps as hotel ranking / hotel booking etc.
If acquisitions were not possible , Nokia joined hands with Lonely Planet and Michelin Guide to provide travel related services to it’s OVI Maps , the reincarnated version of Nokia Maps , users.
In the latest version of OVI Maps Mobile , version 3.03 09 wk35 b07 , specifically for Nokia Series 60 v5 phones and supported by Nokia N97 and Nokia 5800 Xpress Music , Nokia has made a significant improvements in the layout .
The Maps homescreen has changed and now comes laden with features as
My Position – Shows where you currently are , very helpful if in a strange city and want to see what’s around you .
Find Places – Got lost in Estonia and don’t know the language , your personal concierge is there on your mobile to help you
Favorites : Route your map , mark the places you wish to see on OVI Maps on the web at maps.ovi.com and a simple sync will copy your plans on your phone automatically .
Drive : Navigation is what the maps are for and intelligent Navigation on OVI maps makes it more useful with voice and visual instructions , lane markers , speed limit warnings all in your own language ( I use mine with URDU )
Walk : If you want to explore a city , walk in it , in my personal experience it’s the best way to enjoy it and what better if you get a free license to walk around a city ( Qualification is a must ) with markings for pedestrian zones , shortcuts , plazas ad pathways through parks and buildings , making you walk better and efficiently and explore more in what the city has to offer. Mark your home on the Maps and it will even guide you to reach your home .
Weather : a great addition , with 5 day forecast for any location in the world even Karachi Pakistan .
Events : borrowed from Nokia Here and Now , check out local events wherever you are with navigation systems guiding you to reach there . The database is not very extensive and will take some time to be fully functional .
Michelin and Lonely Planet: Nokia has brought together two of the premium and most sought after Travel Guides on the mobile , want to know a restaurant rating , the Michelin Guide will help you decide what about the hidden gems in a city , go loco with the Lonely planet and OVI maps will also get you there .
Beside mapping and navigation , OVI Maps Beta also come laden with additional features like
OVI Maps currently cover 64 countries extensively with navigable maps including
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China / Hong Kong / Macau, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican.
Traffic Coverage is available for 20 countries mostly European , with Singapore , Canada and USA as an exception
Austria, Australia,Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA
Safety Coverage with lane markers and speed warnings are available for Europe only covering
Austria, Andorra, Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
The Hidden Gem with OVI Maps is the OVI Maps API , now developers can download the API code and incorporate it on their websites and applications just like Lonely Planet and Michelin , one of the applications which I earlier reviewed , Dad’s Cab also makes use of OVI Maps and can be used for commercial usage with a little tweaking and enhancements . OVI Maps API partners include
- Deutche Bahn , The German Train Network .
- Berlitz - The leading Language trainer in the world
- Associated Press
- QYPE Radar
- Earth Comber
- Pocket Life
- Cab 4 Me
- National Geographic
- Blog TV
For now the API is in beta stage and available on approval only but once it goes open , look forward to more and more applications incorporating OVI Maps . The API beta program offers the following for developers
- High-level JavaScript APIs to a rich set of Ovi functionality including 3D mapping and positioning (GPS) as well as turn-by-turn Walk and Drive navigation.
- Maps Player API to incorporate Ovi Maps functionality into website, turning it into a personalised, contextual and compelling experience. ( Like Google Latitude Widget )
- Ovi Maps Navigation Player API to create your own maps and incorporate them into OVI Apps like Dad’s Cab
So are you in for some mapping and Navigation , do inform in comments
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