Nokia announced that it has partnered with ARC Transistance, the leading network of automobile clubs in Europe, in order to bring Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) to mobile users who own Nokia handsets. The new service will be integrated into Nokia Maps 2.0, as a "premium offering", as well as in the future versions of Nokia's mapping application.

With Real Time Traffic Information, drivers will be alerted of various road hazards that might appear during their journey(s). The driver's phone, with Nokia Maps installed, receives road updates as they occur, from ARC Transistance, and the Maps can automatically lead to a change in route if necessary (in case of traffic jams, accidents, road constructions etc), offering other navigation options.

For the moment, ARC Transistance's RTTI service covers the traffic conditions and real-time road info for 16 European countries, but more will be added soon. The partnership with ARC Transistance represents an important step in the ongoing development of Nokia Maps, due to the fact that the RTTI allows Nokia phone owners to have an even more pleasant navigation experience.

There is no word yet on when exactly the Real Time Traffic Information is to be integrated in Nokia Maps, but we can hope this happens soon. For the moment, Nokia offers its Maps application only for the Symbian S60 platform, so not all Nokia users can benefit from its features. But Nokia stated two months ago, when the 2.0 Beta version of the Maps was released, that it would offer the application for the S40 platform too, hence bringing it on the mass-oriented market.

In case you don't know and/or you don't have it, the latest version of Nokia Maps (namely 2.0) can be downloaded for free from Nokia's website, found at this address. The application currently includes maps of over 150 countries around the world, more than 70 of them being navigable.