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Nokia gets local: Mapping, navigation smart2go platform

Nokia Gets Local: Mapping and Navigation smart2go Platform
Written by Donna Bogatin, Contributor
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Are you smart2go? “The world in your pocket,” Nokia promises, literally.

Ralph Kunz, Vice President, Multimedia, keynoted at the Kelsey “Drilling Down on Local” Conference today, unveiling the Nokia intention to pre-install Nokia Maps and Nokia Mobile Search on 100 million devices by 2008.

Kunz announced to an audience of hundreds of decision makers in the local online content and advertising space that “it is time to change the rules of the game, it is time for a location based experiences platform,” and Nokia has it.

Kunz evangelized “location aware content in the mobile,” made possible by Nokia’s smart2go mapping and navigation platform, Kunz advised:

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"Smart2go for mobile handsets is a client side global map and search application for GPS-equipped mobile handsets, enabling mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POIs) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge.

It is a hybrid map solution combining the advantages of on-board and off-board navigation. Maps and location-aware content only need to be loaded once, they are then always available on the client."

Smart2go is available for free download and will be pre-installed on all future Nokia Nseries multimedia computers, it will also be available for a variety of other operating systems such as Windows Mobile 5 and Linux, in the future.

The platform contains over 15 million POIs that help people explore sights, restaurants or accommodations around them. Customers can select their favorite locations and send them to friends by multimedia message, Bluetooth wireless technology, infrared or e-mail. They can also send map excerpts and routes or save map screen shots to the gallery on the device.

Smart2go software turns mobile computers, smartphones and PDAs into local mapping and routing engines with a navigation option, providing worldwide mapping free of charge.

"Nokia is on track to build the world's most connected location based platform for mobile devices which also opens up interesting opportunities for future services," according to Kunz.

For Nokia, smart2go “creates discontinuity through technology and business model innovation.” Kunz asserted a news ecosystem is being created and “we want you to be part of it.”

Kunz underscored that the free mapping service will enable development of mobile community and “income through upselling and ads.” Future monetization opportunities include:

Sponsored Messages
Coupons
Voice Landmarks
Microsites
Transactions
Premium Content
Enhanced Functionality
Local Ads

Currently, marketers may purchase “Sponsored Search Links“ and “Branded Icons” placed “across the world's digital maps downloaded onto millions of mobile devices.”

Kunz is confident in the opportunity for Nokia Maps and Nokia Mobile Search, citing data suggesting strong user interest:

65% of users click on “Show On Maps” after a local search,
82% of users click on “Browse” after a Web search.

Kunz is certain of the Nokia opportunity:

850 million people use a Nokia mobile phone daily,
100 million devices were shipped in Q4 2006,
1 million devices are shipped daily,
Nine devices are manufactured each second,
One new model a week was developed in 2006.

The worldwide mobile opportunity is on track to set a key milestone in 2007, Kunz happily noted: 3 billion people with a mobile phone worldwide.

Nokia aims to make as many of them as possible smart2go!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM DRILLING DOWN ON LOCAL:

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The future of Local Search: Report from the field

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