Nokia is trying to make parking woes vanish with an upcoming service called “Nokia Parking”. The service will launch next month (November) in a few cities across Europe and will be built out quickly after that. It’s a comprehensive parking database that can not only help you find parking but even help you pay for it once you do.
The video demo of this service is done on a Lumia 800, but mind you this is not an application, rather this is a Nokia Location service that will be licensed to others and basically blended into other apps. Which means those who will license this service from Nokia, will be able to provide you with an app which will be using Nokia Parking in background.
Watch the video demo,
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Here’s how it works in its current guise: using GPS coordinates the service determines all available parking nearby. Parking garages have information about their size represented, including minimum heights that could be problematic if you’re of the SUV persuasion. But, even more exciting, the app also tracks, in real-time, available spaces just waiting for you to show off those parallel parking skills that earned you a reluctant smile from the judge on your drivers license test.
The service can also aggregate payment information, so once you’re an appropriate distance from the curb you can tap a button on your phone and start paying for the parking spot. Then, when you leave, you can tap another button and your payment is automatically processed — transparently. Or, if you’re using the service on something like a 3G-connected navigation unit in your car, the car itself could automatically start and stop payment parking based on its location.
No more fumbling for change and no more hunting for parking spaces — in theory. When will it come to your town? Well, that largely depends on when some local business wants to partners up with Nokia and develop the necessary services. That, we think, could take a while.
