(UPDATE) Nokia Ovi Maps on Android and Windows Mobile!

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By Mike Browne on February 25,

2010 at 00:00,

When Nokia launched it's free Ovi Maps for Symbian smartphones the world on handheld sat-nav changed. We know support for other platforms is incoming, as the Maemo 5 version of Ovi Maps should be due soon but how about for Android or even Windows Mobile? Well, it's in Nokia's sites and coming soon – find out more about Nokia Ovi Maps on Android after the jump...

Nokia changed the sat-nav landscape forever earlier this year when it launched Ovi Maps 3.03, which delivers free turn-by-turn and traffic update services for life.

Check out our Nokia Ovi Maps 3.03 review

Now, in an an interview with Austrian national newspaper Die Presse, Greig Williams, Nokia's general manager for the Alps and South East Europe, seems to have made a rather bold statement. When asked if Ovi Maps could come to Android or Windows Mobile, he simply replied "That will be the next step."

Now, no timeline was offered but it shows that Nokia is playing a long term game here. It's worth remembering that Ovi Maps can be used in offline mode and is a world wide service whereas the nearest competitor, Google Maps, is still only free in the US and can only be used online.

So, what do you think, are we likely to see Nokia Ovi Maps with free navigation appearing on other platforms soon? Let us know what you think in the Comments below.

Via: electricpig

UPDATE: It seems this was all a little wishful thinking as a story has just popped up over on Engadget confirming this story to be false. It seems the original source of the story, Die Presse mis-quoted Greig. So, Ovi Maps is staying where it belongs on Nokia handsets only.

Tags: Android free navigation Nokia Ovi Maps Windows Mobile

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matkoyy

Nice, but when will be Ovi Maps 3.03 available for other NOKIA S60 3rd FP2 devices? (eg. E75, N85, N96, ..)
Andrew

I think I’d like to see Ovi Maps 3.03 in Maemo 5 for the N900 before Android, and I’d like Mikey to include a link to any firm commitment from Nokia that they are going to do this.

“We know support for other platforms is incoming, as the Maemo 5 version of Ovi Maps should be due soon”

Where does this information come from?
Mikey Bee

@Andrew. It was raised by Executive Vice President of Nokia, Anssi Vanjoki at the launch of Ovi Maps that it would come to Mameo:
http://noknok.tv/2010/01/22/free-ovi-maps-3-03-on-the-nokia-n97-and-nokia-n900/?preview=true&preview_id=11879&preview_nonce=7df4df68b6
C

I agree with you matkoyy! What about the rest of us FP2 device owners!
Andrew

@Mikey Bee. We know this historic announcement, but the subsequent ‘Valentines’ marriage of convenience between Nokia and Intel to create MeeGo has thrown serious doubt over any future development of services for the N900 and the distinct lack of any official statement from Nokia only serves to cast further doubt. There’s been enough noise on a multitude of forums for Nokia to be aware of the disquiet among N900 owners, yet they still remain silent.

There’s never a good time to give bad news, so I guess they just think that they might as well keep quiet while Vodaphone et al discreetly knock out the remaining stock of N900s as ‘free upgrades’, more of which appear on eBay every day…

If Nokia were smart, they’d be working even harder now to make the N900 and Maemo 5 a blinding success so that more cross-platform Qt apps will be written in advance of the first MeeGo devices. Instead they’ve just poleaxed both the N900 and Maemo 5 in one swipe. Did I mention I was bitter?
mjoa

Android/WM support has been confirmed bogus (have a look at e.g. Engadget). Well, it was fun to speculate.

Andrew: If you go to MeeGo.com someone\’s holding N900 in their hands on the front page. Here\’s hoping N900 will transition to MeeGo eventually (and get proper nav).