Free Maps for Your Cellphone

Finnish cell phone maker Nokia announced today that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform available for free. Smart2go provides mapping and routing in over 150 countries and includes support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries.

Users can view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests and create routes to get there free of charge. The firm says the mapping application will be available for free download beginning Saturday, February 10th.

Initially the mapping software will be available for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. The firm says it plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile operating system platforms, including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices. The mapping and navigation application will come pre-installed on all future Nokia Nseries multimedia devices under the name "Nokia Maps".

As the world's largest manufacturer of cellphones, one wonders what effect Nokia's giving away its mapping and navigation applications will have on GPS manufacturers such as TomTom and Garmin.

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GPS Everywhere