{"id":530165,"date":"2010-04-16T18:14:39","date_gmt":"2010-04-16T22:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"tag:contentnext.com,2010-04-16:article\/419-the-domino-effect-of-google-and-nokia-offering-naivgation-for-free"},"modified":"2010-04-16T18:14:39","modified_gmt":"2010-04-16T22:14:39","slug":"the-domino-effect-of-google-and-nokia-offering-navigation-for-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/530165","title":{"rendered":"The Domino Effect Of Google And Nokia Offering Navigation For Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Google (NSDQ: GOOG<\/a>) started offering free turn-by-turn navigation on its latest Android handsets in November, sparking off a chain of events. <\/p>\n

After the announcement, Nokia (NYSE: NOK<\/a>) followed suit and stopped charging for its navigation services, Vodafone (NYSE: VOD<\/a>) shut down its Wayfinder mapping division; and folks like Garmin, if anything, focused more on building and releasing their own phones. But the biggest impacts may have immediately been felt in Europe, where Nokia continues to be the dominant handset-maker. <\/p>\n

In February, 21.1 million consumers in five major European countries used their phones for navigation, representing an increase of 68 percent compared to a year ago, comScore (NSDQ: SCOR<\/a>) reports. That sounds about right. Nokia said two weeks after making navigation free, the service was being downloaded at a rate of one every second.\n<\/p>\n

Reuters reports<\/a> that this compares to 20.4 million personal navigation devices sold in those markets in 2008 and 2009 in total, according to research firm GfK.<\/p>\n

Of those 21.1 cellphone navigation users, 68 percent accessed the service while in a car or other vehicle with 27 percent doing so while walking, running or cycling. “That these services offer similar functionality to premium services without the significant price-tag has certainly contributed to their early success,” said ComScore analyst Alistair Hill.\n<\/p>\n

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