Nokia has put navigation at the heart of its smartphone strategy with the launch of a new enhanced version of Ovi Maps. Unveiled at a press event in London this morning, Nokia said that the new mapping platform will offer turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries in 46 languages, and will come preloaded on most new GPS-enabled Nokia smartphones. It is completely free to end users. Nokia EVP Anssi Vanjoki told reporters that the service was aimed at “boosting our smartphone sales…  and boosting the Ovi [applications] Store.”

Nokia is hoping that the new navigation service will provide a boost for its Ovi platform, which has so far failed to keep pace with offerings from the likes of Google and Apple. However, mapping is considered a strong area for Nokia, following its US$8.1 billion acquisition of navigation specialist Navteq three years ago. Nokia remains the market leader in smartphones and Vanjoki said that it has around 83 million devices in the market to date that will support the service at launch. It is immediately available for download on ten Nokia handsets, including the Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia E72; more are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Nokia claims the service has been well received by the operator community due to functionality designed to minimise data network usage. As the maps are preloaded (or downloaded and stored for future use), Nokia said the service will be fully functional in offline mode. It also uses low-res vector graphics, which it says is around half the size of the “bulky bitmaps” used by other mobile map providers. “Network operators are supporting us on this,” said Vanjoki.

Nokia also talked up Ovi Maps as a developer platform that will allow third-parties to offer location-aware applications. Travel guides from Lonely Planet and Michelin are already available, as is a Facebook app that allows users to share location information. Meanwhile, Nokia’s announcement is unlikely to be well received by traditional navigation device manufacturers such as TomTom and Garmin. Both their share prices dropped last October when Google launched a similar free mapping service for its Android phones.