Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Ahmad al-Hamad – At last, Nokia launched the GPS navigation system and mapping guide for the first time in Jordan.

The service works in many countries around the world and in the Arab world, consisting of voice navigation assistance that determines location, distance and direction. The service is available in several languages, and most recently in Arabic. The service is exclusively offered on Nokia phones.

In a special interview with “Ammon,” Nokia’s Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa, Muhammad al-Sheikh, told Ammon that the service is provided for customers on a monthly, six-months, or a yearly basis, and currently works in a number of countries including Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Morocco and Iran.

The mapping guide is available on Nokia phones free of charge, Al-Sheikh explained, but the voice assisted navigation will be a paid service costing anywhere between $10 to $100 depending on the membership duration. Al-Sheikh added that the membership equals about 20 cents a day and is affordable for a great service that works in the mentioned countries on the same membership, making driving between countries easier by using the mapping guide and voice navigation service instead of having to carry maps or ask people on the street for directions.

The GPS software service is available on most updated Nokia phones, allowing you to see area maps in different dimensions and determine the speed and distance in meter, kilometer or mile.

The navigation service covers nearly 29,000 km of roads and points of interest, covering 100 percent of the area of Jordan. The navigation service includes 13,500 points of interest and determines their locations, distance, speed and phone number, and can be searched by entering the name of the destination, according to al-Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh added that the service includes three types of maps, the first includes street names on an electronic map, the second is a real area imaging giving full mapping details, and the third type is real 3-D imaging.

Al-Sheikh told Ammon News that Nokia vendors in Jordan are trained on the navigation system and are able to assist customers in learning how to activate and use it, adding that the service is user friendly and quick to learn.

In terms of the future vision, al-Sheikh said that Nokia plans to provide more informational services on traffic conditions, noting that this service is available in many countries but until now Jordan doesn't have an agency or company specialized in providing up-to-date traffic data, when that is available, Nokia will launch its traffic status service, he added.

Al-Sheikh described some of the extra features provided by the Nokia navigation service, including linking with Facebook and updating the status based on your current location, and the ability to save favorite locations for future visits.

Through their website, www.maps.ovi.com, you can check out maps and favorite destinations, if they are not available, you can add the destinations and the company will verify its authenticity and add it to the maps.

Al-Sheikh noted that the navigation service covers over 200 countries throughout the world, including North and South America, Europe, Russia, East and South East Asia, and South Africa.

More information is available at www.maps.nokia.com