Nokia has seen 1.4m global downloads of its satellite navigation Ovi Maps app one week after its launch.
The UK was named as one of the top five countries for the relaunched free mapping service, which includes turn-by-turn navigation.
Nokia expects to extend the reach of Ovi Maps further following its decision to embed the app in all new GPS-enabled smartphones from March.
Anssi Vanjoki, executive VP of Nokia, said operators would benefit as subscribers took up flat-rate data plans to allow them to access the service. “When we announced free walk & drive navigation we knew it would be a game-changer,” he said. “The number of people now using their Nokia for navigation, and as a result looking for more location-aware software, is growing faster than even we predicted.”
Nokia launched Ovi Maps last month following its acquisition of mapping service Navteq in October 2007 (nma.co.uk 21 January 2010).