Nokia’s defensive move to make its Ovi maps and navigation free is already seeing strong customer response. Since launching Jan. 21, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) said today that people have downloaded the service 1.4 million times, and the one million mark was hit in just a week.
The rate of downloads are staggering, and will presumably surpass Google’s Android user base since Nokia’s reach is much larger. “We’re averaging a download a second, 24 hours a day,” said Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia’s EVP. “When we announced free walk & drive navigation we knew it would be a game-changer. The number of people now using their Nokia for navigation, and as a result looking for more location-aware software, is growing faster than even we predicted.” There’s no doubt that the program is also helping to get the word out about its Ovi Store, which is now averaging one million downloads a day.
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) started providing free navigation services on the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid, and has rolled it out to many more devices since. That prompted Nokia to stop charging for its mapping services. It’s still not clear how Nokia will make money from giving away the software for free. Nokia got into the maps business after it spent millions on acquiring Navteq. Nokia said its strategy is to “lead the market in mobile maps, navigation and location-based services.” Vanjoki: “This is great news for our 3rd party application developers. Within a matter of days there is an installed base of more than 1 million active users all potentially hungry for new and innovative location-aware apps. For the operators too there is a growing opportunity to sell more data-plans and a complete navigation package to existing and new customers.”
Nokia provided a list of the top five countries where maps are being downloaded the most. They are very representative of the company’s global reach: China, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain. The service covers more than 180 countries and is available in 46 languages. For now, current users will have to download the app to their devices. At least 12 devices are supported. Going forward, all new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps, pre-loaded with local country map data, with high-end walk and drive navigation and access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides at no extra cost.

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