14 DAY TRIAL // When made available later during the ongoing year, the next version of Microsoft's mobile operating system, called Windows Phone Mango, should be loaded on handsets from Nokia as well, and will also include support for specific features, such as Ovi Maps APIs.
In February this year, Nokia and Microsoft announced the signing of an agreement aimed at putting Windows Phone on handsets from the world's leading mobile phone maker, and the first such devices should arrive on shelves in time for the holiday season.
As part of the agreement, Nokia said that it would provide its Ovi Maps service to Windows Phone users, and the said support for Ovi Maps API comes as part of this move, that's for sure.
The support for these APIs should not be limited only to Nokia's Windows Phone devices, but will be available for handsets from other manufacturers as well.
“This would be good to know for the future use cases; the current Ovi Maps API will be supported in the oncoming devices,” a recent post on the Nokia Developer forum reads (via).
“Some changes for code may be needed, also some dedicated features may be implemented - we will get more information and details on this during the coming months.”
Nokia did promise before that its services and resources would be used for enhancing the Windows Phone experience for all users of the platform, and the availability of Ovi Maps API for Mango is one of the steps the company takes in this direction.
At the moment, the Ovi Maps come with free navigation for all users of a Nokia mobile phone that runs under the Symbian platform.
On Windows Phone, the service should be offered for free as well, thus becoming a powerful competitor for Google's Maps, which is available as a free, dedicated application for Android-based mobile phones.