Nokia Ovi Maps Available for iOS and Android Users Now

Although Nokia’s market share might not be doing as well as it used to, that’s not stopping the Finnish company from rolling out new devices and sharing their technology with others. By the latter statement I’m talking about the very recent discovery that Nokia’s own mapping software i.e. Ovi Maps is soon going to be available for other smartphone OS’. That means Apple and Android mobile users without any navigation software loaded onto their devices can avail of Nokia’s generosity. It was already quite obvious that Nokia WP7 devices would not be losing out on this system either so I guess Nokia decided, why should anyone lose out.

However, here’s the catch, if you can even call it that – although there doesn’t seem to be an application in the works just yet, according to thehandheldblog, the Finnish company has announced an HTML5 powered, mobile optimized Nokia Maps website. The site can be accessed from your iOS or Android powered device, activate your GPS settings and you’re good to go. iOS offers multi-touch zooming but Android will have suffice with Zoom-In and Zoom-Out buttons.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Ovi Maps on Android and iOS

You can access the maps via your device’s browser here – m.maps.ovi.com, and you’ll be able to find your way around your location with ease with a-GPS services aiding you. Switch on your GPS module for accurate readings though. I’m sure most of you are wondering why bother with Ovi when Google Maps comes preloaded with iOS and Android? The answer is for those using smartphones with these operating systems in countries where the search giant has not yet managed to dole out navigation for their maps. This is where this online service will be most handy.

So far Nokia has made no official announcement about this latest update in the Ovi Maps segment, but it won’t be too long a wait I’m sure. And I have to agree with the mobile community, it’s only just rolling out so if you find bugs, chances are that they’ll be weeded out with a few updates that shouldn’t be too far behind. Right now, it’s extremely basic and very simplistic so don’t expect too much, but with a few updates over time, Google could be looking at some serious competition, especially if Nokia also decides to take it to the “streets”, if you know what I mean.

You can take a quick look at how Ovi Maps runs on Android (LG Optimus Black used for test) and the iPhone 4 -