Are good times about to roll for Nokia’s “Location and commerce” business? This is the new business arm of Nokia which deals in with providing mapping solutions to other businesses. It has already scored some big victories in form of,
- Powering Yahoo Maps.
- Powering Bing maps and default maps for Windows Phone 8 devices.
- 5-year Map update deal with Hyundai Motors across Europe.
Now, confirmed information about two more major deals is in.
Amazon Maps:
Nokia has just confirmed that Amazon has in fact licensed its Location Platform for maps and geocoding. Amazon has shunned the Android default Google Maps for the “Kindle Fire HD” and the new Amazon Maps will be based on the licensed Nokia location platform. See the full press release from Nokia.
Amazon is licensing the Nokia Location Platform (NLP) for maps and geocoding.
The Nokia Location Platform is the most advanced mobile location platform with a unique global footprint. It provides maps for almost 200 countries (with more than 100 of them navigable) and provides the best, automotive-grade map quality based on industry-leading technology and more than 20 years expertise in mapping.
Amongst others, it is already powering Yahoo Maps, and increasingly also powering Bing Maps as well.
Location is playing a central role in our strategy, and because of its global footprint, quality and completeness of performance (geocoding, routing, traffic) the Nokia Location Platform offers great opportunities for 3rd parties to build upon.
Amazon´s decision to choose the Nokia Location Platform is further proof point that our competence in this space is a key differentiator also for other leading players in the industry to offer great location consumer experiences.
Ford Motors:
In one more big win for the Nokia’s location platform, Nokia confirmed on Monday (Sept. 17) that its Location & Commerce unit will supply Ford Motor Co. with reference data for use with Ford’s Emergency Assistance technology when it is deployed in Europe. Ford’s Emergency Assistance service is currently available on the SYNC platform installed in more than 4 million vehicles in the U.S. It is scheduled to be available in Europe later this year aboard Ford’s B-MAX multipurpose vehicle.
Nokia said the reference data can be used to identify a driver’s location and determine the appropriate language required to alert local emergency services. The system works by sending automated voice messages and coordinates with local emergency medical and other services in the local language rather than routing messages through a call center.
The reference data’s “geofencing” capability also can identify regional language differences in countries like Belgium and Switzerland so that an accident location can be routed to the appropriate local emergency services center.
Nokia said its system speeds emergency calls by employing data compression techniques used to reduce the amount of data that needs to be processed.
