This is not a fantastic story nor a sci-fi movie, but a new kind of multimedia service that has been integrated into the latest Nokia N-series mobile phone, the N95, that will be launched worldwide by the first quarter of next year.

The Nokia N-series multimedia phone represents the next leap forward in personal computing. It integrates the functionality of a PC and other portable devices including camera, music player, and personal digital assistant (PDA).

The global positioning system is the new highlight technology in the new phone series, which comes along with maps and navigation of 15 million points of interest in more than 100 countries.

However, Jose-Luis Martinez, vice president of Multimedia at Nokia Asia Pacific, said the schedule to launch maps and navigation services for each country depends on the readiness of service partners in each individual market, even though all the maps are completely developed and ready for service.

The integrated GPS feature allows users to search for favourite spots such as the most popular food places, buildings, hospitals and embassies, and they can also save their favourite locations on the phone. To use navigation speech, users have to purchase an additional service.

"This kind of service is available in some countries such as Singapore where I could experience it myself. When I was lost I let my phone guide me along the route back to the hotel easily," said Martinez.

A wide rang of navigation and routing functions have already been out there, he said. N95 users just slide up the front cover and activate GPS. Once users click on the map application, the device automatically shows the user's location on a more detailed map and gives a wide range of different navigation options.

For example, "show the world" allows the user to download any required maps; "Show you where you are" displays nearby areas of your exact location, and "Show you what's around you" is a feature that boasts more than 15 million points of interest from railway stations and hospitals to tourist attractions and restaurants and allows the user to search for these. Detailed information about each point such as an address and telephone number can also be accessed.

"In the future, if corporate users want to benefit from this kind of technology and service to enhance their productivity, they can add more functions. At present, this feature will facilitate individual users to experience the personal navigation application," said Martinez.

He added that the personal navigation market has exploded in recent years. Millions of drivers, for instance, now rely on GPS devices to get from one place to another place. Combining GPS functionality with always-on mobile connectivity provides a range of additional benefits.

Nokia is set to be a leading player in this market. It expects the global market for personal navigation devices to almost double in 2006 to 15 million units from eight million in 2005.

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation

Manila