Is Ovi Maps better than Google Maps Navigation?
The two services have different advantages. Google has built unique features into its maps, such as “Street View” (360-degree images) and “Satellite View” (bird’s-eye perspective). Nokia is including 3-D landmarks for 200 cities around the world and point-of-interest information from Lonely Planet and Michelin guidebooks. Ovi Maps is also designed to be less “bandwidth hungry” than Google Maps, which requires a more constant data connection to view maps. Nokia says Ovi is 10 times more efficient in its use of bandwidth than Google’s service. Ovi Maps will also be available in many more places (74 countries, 46 languages) than Google Maps Navigation, which is currently limited to the U.S. Nokia also contends that its maps are of higher quality than Google’s, due to its close relationship with Navteq.
