Free Ovi Maps wins Nokia a slot at T-Mobile USA
The Finnish giant's 5230 Nuron helps T-Mobile get into the budget smartphone trend
Published: 3 March, 2010
READ MORE: US | Nokia | T-Mobile | Location | Handset | Symbian
This may be the year that Nokia finally makes a respectable showing among the major US carriers. Its Ovi applications platform has already found a place in AT&T's revamped web/smartphone line-up, with devices to come soon; and now the other GSM carrier, T-Mobile USA, is to offer the midrange 5230 Nuron handset with Ovi apps preloaded.
This is a significant coup given T-Mobile's strong commitment to Android as its main smartphone and apps platform. It is also another example of the turnaround effect that one decision - making Nokia Maps with turn-by-turn navigation free earlier this year - has had on the Finnish vendor's hesitant web services progress.
T-Mobile executives said this navigation service would be a key attraction for the Nuron (although Google Maps for Android is also free). Maps for north America and Mexico come preinstalled, and additional charts for 180 countries can be downloaded. Unlike some cellcos, TMo does not offer an own-branded navigation system. Ovi Maps also features recommendations from Lonely Planet travel guides, weather forecasts and Facebook-based location sharing.
The handset fits neatly into the burgeoning trend to offer smartphone capabilities, such as integrated location services, app stores and touchscreens, to the mass market. It will be offered for $69.99 after rebates, with two-year contract and data plan, far lower than most of TMo's Android smartphones, which tend to have an upfront price tag around $200, even with contracts. The Nuron will be available later this month.
As well as mapping, the phone comes with homescreen access to Nokia's Ovi Store and the option of having content purchases billed to the customer's cellphone bill or credit card. The phone has a 3.2-inch touchscreen and full HTML browser but no Wi-Fi.It was launched last summer as a very low cost Ovi/Symbian phone and a cutdown implementation of the popular 5800 XpressMusic device.
"TMo's product marketing director, Travis Warren, said in a statement: " Nuron isa 3G smartphone for the masses that delivers features like a full touch screen, free turn-by-turn navigation and a premium storefront for applications."
Nokia says that more than three million people downloaded the Ovi Maps application in its first two weeks as a free product, and it now averages more than one download per second, 24 hours a day.
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