Earlier this month, we reported that Nokia Maps services would be made available to all Windows Phone devices, not just those straight out of Espoo. Today, we’ve found more evidence to support this: existing Nokia Maps APIs third party developers can use in their Symbian apps will work on Windows Phone too.
According to Marko Lumivuori, a Nokia employee on the company’s developer forums, the “current Ovi Maps API will be supported in the oncoming devices” running the Windows Phone 7 Mango update.
That should make it easy for developers of Symbian apps that use Nokia’s Maps APIs (The company recently ditched the Ovi branding) to port over their programs with all features intact, but it’s a further sign that Nokia’s Maps software will be something that every Windows Phone manufacturer will be able to take advantage, from Samsung to bargain bin phone peddler ZTE.
While we’ve hated Symbian for as long as we can remember, Nokia’s Maps service is the jewel in its crown, and one it appears it’s polishing to put in a new headpiece.
Lumivuori says to expect more details in the coming months – stay tuned.
