2008-06-04
Dubai, UAE – Nokia, the world leader in mobility, today announced the introduction of new services in the Middle East and North Africa, as part of Ovi, Nokia’s mobile Internet service brand name. Maps 2.0, the updated version of Nokia Maps has left beta stage and is now ready for consumers to download. Nokia's mapping and navigation solutions give people navigation features, local content and world maps directly on their mobile device, in a way that only connected devices can.
Nokia Maps 2.0 has improved its optional Car Navigation, enhanced its pedestrian navigation, and added multimedia city guides. Additionally, it offers satellite images and is sporting a redesigned user interface.
In MENA, most Nokia devices now come preloaded with maps, which cover the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. Voice guided-navigation is also available in over 30 languages, including Arabic, French, Urdu, Farsi, and Hindi, which can be used to navigate anywhere in the world. In Saudi Arabia, points of interest have been upgraded to 31,000 and to 12,500 in the United Arab Emirates.
Nokia device owners in the Middle East and North Africa can now also find, try and buy high-quality made-for-mobile games directly from their mobile device. The Nokia N-Gage mobile games service offers access to a range of high-quality games, many of which are exclusive to the N-Gage platform. N-Gage games incorporate exclusive, industry defining online community features, and in many cases, graphical experiences never before seen on a mobile device. Today’s N-Gage compatible devices include: Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N82, Nokia N95, and Nokia N95 8GB.
And to improve the music experience for its users, Nokia has introduced the Nokia Music PC Client, which is a PC application that includes a music player, music management and simple and intuitive tools to help users transfer their music to their devices. This application is currently available in beta for download for free under www.nokia.com/betalabs/musicpcclient.
The application also allows users to benefit from several unique features. Users can rip their CDs into the most efficient audio codec (eAAC+) which means they can fit more music on their devices than would otherwise be possible. ‘Rip n’ Go’ is another great feature that enables the quickest possible CD transfer to your device. Users will also be able to create playlists and burn audio CDs and can also transfer playlists they have created on their mobiles back to their PC.
“As the number one mobile device company in the world, we aim to empower and enable Nokia device owners to realise the full potential of the Internet. We are now delivering navigation, gaming, and music services for Nokia users in MENA, and we will continue to roll out new user interface elements, service suites and web communities, and bring them all together under a single offering – Ovi by Nokia,” Tommi Mustonen, Vice President, Services and Software, Nokia.
Lorenzo Leone, Head of Services and Software, Nokia Middle East and North Africa said, “As we work on rolling-out Ovi services across the world, we are continually ensuring that these services are delivered to Nokia users in the region in a manner that is relevant and easy to access. From the list of 30 locations that consumers can choose to access N-Gage from around the world, 5 of these sites are from this region. With maps and navigation, we have delivered voice-guided navigation in a number of locally relevant languages to enable our consumers to navigate in their native language wherever they are in the world. Our maps today cover seven countries in the region, with implementation in other countries well underway.”
Ovi, which means ‘door’ in Finnish, is the gateway to Nokia's Internet services, including the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and N-Gage games. It will also be an open door to web communities, enabling people to access their content, communities and contacts from a single place, either directly from a compatible Nokia device or from a PC.
Nokia Maps 2.0
www.maps.nokia.com
Nokia Maps 2.0 uses vector maps provided by Navteq and TeleAtlas. Nokia Maps now has maps covering over 200 countries, with over 70 of them navigable. Maps can be downloaded over the air directly to selected devices or by using the Nokia Map Loader on a PC. A new beta version of the Nokia Map Loader is available on the Nokia Betalabs web site.
Nokia Maps 2.0 and the current commercial version of the Nokia Maps Loader is freely* available for selected devices. For download and more information, please visit http://www.maps.nokia.com
A partial list of the updated features in Nokia Maps 2.0 includes:
Drive. The improved optional Car Navigation equals a PND-level car navigation experience with faster routing. Easy-to-use updated user interface features include a new navigation carousel with pre-defined navigation views - i.e. navigation, arrow and birds-eye; and top-of-the-line navigation features including signposts and a multi-stop route planner.
Walk. Optional pedestrian navigation efficiently walks you from A to B with visual guidance. It helps you to locate yourself by giving information about the surrounding buildings, streets and parks and, if the device supports it, notifies the direction you are walking. It also offers advanced multi-sensor positioning using A-GPS, and pedestrian orientation using the compass feature (Nokia 6210 Navigator needed for built-in compass usage).
Discover. Satellite images with hybrid rendering overlays for selected cities worldwide provide real aerial views on your mobile. The signature "one-box search" allows you to search through places, addresses, restaurants, nightlife, outdoor and accommodation.
N-Gage - mobile gaming experience
http://www.n-gage.com
By selecting the N-Gage application on your compatible Nokia device, you can preview available games, connect with your friends, read reviews or download a free demo. Games can be purchased with a credit car, with additional payment options to be brought to consumers over the coming months. Companies like Electronic Arts and Gameloft are making some of their biggest brands available through N-Gage.
The N-Gage platform has exclusive titles that are among the most ambitious and graphically rich mobile games ever produced. From strategy and sport to arcade and action, games of all genres are being developed for N-Gage by leading games publishers. The first set of games include: Brain Challenge and Asphalt 3: Street Rules by Gameloft, and Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep and System Rush: Evolution by Nokia Publishing. These games will be followed closely by EA SPORTS™ FIFA 08, Tetris® and The Sims™ 2 Pets by EA Mobile; Dogz by Gameloft; and Snakes Subsonic, Space Impact: Kappa Base and Mile High Pinball by Nokia Publishing. Starting today, players will have access to a range of high-quality games, many of which are exclusive to the N-Gage platform. N-Gage games incorporate exclusive, industry defining online community features, and in many cases, graphical experiences never before seen on a mobile device.
With the N-Gage application on their device, people can create a Friends List, send and receive private messages, and take part in instant messaging style chat. N-Gage Points can be earned for playing games and participating in community activities. Moreover, the experience can take place via the N-Gage web portal on the PC. Here players can interact seamlessly with the N-Gage community or purchase new games and download them to their N-Gage compatible devices.
Prior to the N-Gage service going live, Nokia sought feedback from its fans through the N-Gage First Access program. In its eight week run, N-Gage First Access saw tens of thousands of participants register for the service from over 100 countries.
To download the N-Gage application, visit http://www.n-gage.com on your mobile device or PC. New games, features and compatible devices will be added regularly. Games are expected to cost between US$8 and US$13.50– all of which are free to try before buying.
