Nokia: Ovi Maps Now Free, a “Game-changing Move”
A “secret” launch event early today (one that I’m sure many of us thought was for a new handset) brought the news that Nokia’s Ovi Maps will be completely free. That’s Drive and Walk navigation, Lonely Planet guides, the whole shebang. Free. And it’s available now. Sweet.
It’s a great move, but far from “game-changing”, that’s for sure. Pessimists could say it’s typical Nokia M.O. – moving to offer something after the competition, and in this case, Android Maps – but it’s still a welcome gesture.
The new application is available at Ovi Maps, and limited to S60 devices. You can also find the latest version of Nokia Map Loader there.
Meanwhile, N900 users unfortunately will still have to live with the travesty that is Maemo’s version of Ovi Maps, an app that I must say is one of the most useless navigational tools ever made.
I was excited to hear this, but sadly, it’s crashing my phone. When I run it, my phone turns off. I’ve even tried uninstalling and re-installing, but every time I run Maps, the phone just shuts off.