Created on 27 April 2009
By bundling Ovi Maps on more phones than you can shake a road atlas at, Nokia has saved so many of us the indignity of having to ask directions, avoided just as many mid-motorway arguments with partners, and unleashed a ton of new GPS-fueled fun in the process. For the uninitiated, Ovi Maps puts navigation tools just a click away on your Nokia phone. It comes pre-installed on all Nokia handsets with GPS abilities, such as the N97, and can be added to others too.
But it doesn’t just show the way from A to B – it also sprinkles info such as 3D landmarks, voice guidance and pedestrian routes, making it far more useful than the average standalone satnav unit, as well as a lot more portable. Nokia Maps even lets you plan a journey from the comfort of a PC, using the web browser to tap in all the places you need to visit, before syncing them to a phone to take on the road. Think of it as a well-travelled friend. Ovi Maps knows all the best places to visit, and it’s free.
If you only do one thing....
Take
Ovi Maps for a walk. Few satnavs have pedestrian-friendly directions, and taking their advice risks wandering near motorways, or going the long way ‘round. Not with Ovi Maps, it’ll take paths instead of A-roads, and give you a pleasant, and direct, stroll to your destination!
Miscellany
We take you down the road of GPS enlightenment
Ovi Maps uses GPS to work its navigational witchcraft. But did you ...
GPS was invented by the American Military. Until the year 2000 civilian usage had its accuracy worsened, but now both military and public GPS is accurate down to 20 meters. -
Ezine
Europe has its own GPS system in the works, called the Galileo project. It will be more accurate, down to one meter, but work did not begin on the satellites until April 2008. -
Galileo project
You can find hidden treasure with GPS. Sort of. Geocaching hobbyists challenge each other to find hidden ‘caches’ dotted all over the world -
Geocaching.com
The world’s first phone to combine GPS technology with a digital compass, The Navigator, was the work of Nokia. -
The Times
Nokia is working on an indoor version of GPS, helping find meeting rooms in office buildings or particular shops in a mall -
Nokia Conversations
