Nokiatoday took on
Google's Latitude
location-based application with a service that will let Nokia
smartphone users update theirFacebookaccounts with location and status details on the
fly.
The new service, which is called Lifecasting, will be offered
via Nokia's Ovi
platform.
Announcing the deal at
Nokia
World in Stuttgart, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said Nokia
aimed to reach "the many, not the few" through more open
partnerships with world leaders in different fields.
The aim was to change how people connect with each other, he
said.
Lifecasting with Ovi lets people publish their location using
Ovi Maps, and update their availability status directly to their
Facebook account from the home screen of a mobile device, Nokia
said.
This is essentially what Google Latitude allows someone to do
with a PC.
"Lifecasting is about building deeper and closer connections
between people. It triggers new kinds of communication patterns,
such as sending messages or status updates or even navigating to a
friend or a place," it said.
Lifecasting will premiere in October on the new
Nokia N97 mini, a companion to the Nokia N97 launched earlier
this year. Smaller that the Nokia N97, the mini has a stainless
steel case, a tilting 3.2" touch display, qwerty keyboard and
customisable homescreen.
Nokia has also signed up premium content from Lonely Planet,
Michelin and Wcities for the Nokia N97 mini in an effort to make it
the world's smallest travel companion.
The Nokia N97 mini features new software which will be released
in October as a free update for the Nokia N97. The new software
includes support for new homescreen widgets and usability
improvements including flick scrolling.
The announcements follow Nokia's launch last week of:
-
Nokia Money, a mobile banking system aimed at mobile phone
users who don't have bank accounts
- the
Nokia N900, a Linux/Maemo-based tablet device
- the
Nokia Booklet 3G, a Windows netbook, and
- the Nokia 5230 and Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition touchscreen
smartphones, which are optimised for media downloads.