Nokia plans GPS units for all phones

Nokia wants GPS navigation to be a standard feature across all its phones, its software supplier Route 66 said today. Although the Finnish cellphone maker already has multiple phones with mapping functionality, including the N95 and the 6110 Navigator, it hopes to make a GPS chipset a standard feature of even its cheapest models as a way of separating itself from rivals.

"Nokia’s goal is to be at the top of navigation," Mike Goodenough of Route 66 said bluntly.

The development could change the phone landscape by allowing phones to replace typically costly stand-alone GPS units. While numerous phones include assistive GPS, which frequently requires a paid plan from a cellphone carrier and a connection to their network, dedicated GPS chips permit phones to calculate routes anywhere they can receive a satellite signal.

Nokia didn't set a timetable for the transition but has noted that multiple N-series phones already have the option. [via NaviGadget]