Size does count

Nokia has announced the long awaited arrival of the Nokia N97 Mini in South Africa. Following in the footsteps of its earlier brother the popular Nokia N97, the Mini was initially unveiled at Nokia World in Germany towards the end of 2009. Sporting new home-screen widgets, this slim device packs 8GB of storage, a tilting 3.2 inch touch display and full QWERTY keyboard all within a 14.2mm thin frame.

‚The Nokia N97 Mini carries substantial developments in smart phone functionality as well as enhanced sharing capabilities, all in a sleek package,‚ says Patrick Henchie, product manager for Nokia South Africa. ‚It’s important to note too that the device works seamlessly with Nokia’s Ovi Store allowing users to personalise their device with ringtones, applications, widgets and other content,‚ he says.

The Nokia N97 Mini is powered by a new Ovi Maps experience which makes searching and navigating even easier. In addition to global pedestrian navigation, users can access premium content from Lonely Planet and Wcities, turning the Nokia N97 Mini into the world’s smallest travel companion.

Nokia is constantly updating and enhancing its devices with new features and functionality so users can get even more out of their Nokia even years after purchase. Nokia announced earlier this year that its navigation service, Ovi Maps is now available for free for use on Nokia smartphones, including the Nokia N97 Mini.

‚We want to make using your mobile for navigation as familiar as using it to send a text message or take a picture,‚ continues Henchie. ‚With the advancements in Ovi Maps, you no longer have to carry multiple devices when you travel. We have packaged the device with a powerful mapping and navigation solution to make users lives easier while on the go by car or on foot.‚

Over 1 million downloads of Ovi Maps took place in the first week of announcing the solution earlier in 2010 proving the success of the free Nokia Ovi Maps and exposing Nokia’s strategy to lead the market in mobile maps, navigation and location-based services. By leveraging the investment in NAVTEQ, Nokia has been able to remove the costs associated with navigation for drivers and pedestrians.

Through this relationship, over 77 3D South African landmarks and historical sites appear on Ovi Maps, with a further 40 more to appear in April, when NAVTEQ will offer an updated version. The updated landmarks will include all soccer stadiums such as Greenpoint and The Moses Mabhida Stadium. These new features will also enable worldwide users of Ovi Maps to have access to 3D city models of South Africa and real-time updates through advanced routing and intuitive guidance.

Ovi Maps covers more than 180 countries with car and pedestrian navigation for 74 countries, in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries. There are more than 6000 3D landmarks for 200 cities around the world.

For more information and related materials visit www.nokiaconnect.co.za

Visit Nokia’s Ovi Store at http://www.ovi.com/services/

Ovi Maps can be downloaded at www.nokia.com/maps