Samsung S5620 Monte gets free navigation in the Czech Republic

The Samsung S5620 Monte has a map and it's not afraid to use it for free voice-guided navigation. The NaviExpert app for the Monte transforms it into a SatNav unit with the same maps that Nokia uses for their Ovi Maps application.

The NaviExpert is a J2ME app, which is free to download to any compatible phones, though you still need to buy a navigation license. But here's the kicker - if you buy a Samsung S5620 Monte, you get the license for free.

For now, this deal is only available for the Monte units in the Czech Republic. It will come preinstalled on newer units but if you've already got one and it doesn't have the NaviExpert on board - don't sweat it, it's still free (both the download and the license).

The NaviExpert app packs all the usual features for a SatNav application including goodies like 3D map view, traffic information, speed camera warnings, POI database, advanced route selection, etc. The Community Traffic feature uses data from other users for better traffic jam avoidance.

NaviExpert uses NAVTEQ maps for 36 European countries. That's the same maps Nokia uses (actually NAVTEQ is owned by Nokia), so the Samsung S5620 Monte is in good company.

The app requires an Internet connection to work as it downloads map data from the NaviExpert servers. This means you'd need a good data plan to use it.

We hope that Samsung expands the deal to other regions and phones other than the S5620 Monte. This is bound to heat up the competition between Google, Nokia and the rest, which means better products for us, the end-users.

Source (Site in Czech)