Google Maps for mobile now in native Symbian C++ offers a richer more compelling user experience

The client is available for download for S60 3rd Edition on Symbian OS-based phones at www.google.com/gmm and will be demonstrated at the Symbian stand during the Symbian Smartphone Show in London, UK, October 16-17th.

Symbian develops and licenses Symbian OS, the market leading operating system for smartphones and is licensed by the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers. To date, over 145 million Symbian smartphones have shipped worldwide to over 250 major network operators. Users can now access the powerful combination of Symbian's functionality and performance and Google's innovative services directly from their mobile devices.

Google

"At Google our goal is to develop our products to bring the best possible experience to the user. With this in mind, we created an optimized version of Google Maps for mobile that takes advantage of the performance and deep integration we can achieve using native Symbian C++ to deliver an excellent experience for the large, important and growing market of Symbian users," said Shannon Maher, Director of Engineering at Google," said Shannon Maher, Director of Engineering at Google.

Symbian OS provides the broadest choice of development environments. Developers can choose programming languages according to individual skills and the application being developed. Native Symbian C++ offers the most powerful set of APIs for application developers who wish close integration with the underlying OS, offering the fastest and richest user experience.

Symbian

"Native Google Maps on Symbian OS is an excellent example of how established brands can easily create compelling mobile experiences without compromising on brand consistency, features or usability," said Antony Edwards, Vice-President, Developer Product Marketing, Symbian. "With a richer user experience, the new native Symbian C++ version of Google Maps for mobile will help generate increased revenues for operators, content owners, phone vendors and third party location services software developers."

Available now as a free download, Google Maps for mobile offers Symbian smartphone users the ability to locate their approximate position using A-GPS and based on this information can provide the following services:

• Detailed directions - Whether you plan to walk or drive, your route is displayed on the map itself, together with step-by-step directions
• Integrated search results - Local business locations and contact information appear all in one place, integrated on your map
• Easily movable maps - Interactive maps let you zoom in or out, and move in all directions so you can orient yourself visually
• Satellite imagery - Get a bird's eye view of your desired location. (It's like you're there, we swear.)