Nokia's navigation service Here comes to Samsung smartwatch and Galaxy

Samsung has partnered with Nokia to bring navigation service Here to its new smartwatch and Galaxy Android phones.

Here is a Nokia subsidiary that provides navigation, mapping and location services comparable with Google and Apple Maps.

Here will be available on Samsung’s Tizen devices including the Gear S, a curved smartwatch that was announced this week, Nokia said.

On the Gear, Here will power an app called Navigator, offering turn-by-turn navigation as well as public transit routing. The app works stand-alone and map data can be stored on the device to use for offline navigation, Nokia said. However, Navigator can also pair with Here’s Android app to let users calculate routes on their phones and send them to their smartwatch, it added.

A beta version of Here for Android will be available for free exclusively on Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones, Here said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Android app will be made available for download from the Samsung Galaxy Apps store when the Gear S arrives in stores. Samsung’s curved smartwatch is slated for a phased global rollout beginning in October. Pricing was not announced.

Here offers maps for almost 200 countries, and turn-by-turn walking or driving navigation in about 100 of them. Public transport maps and directions are available in more than 750 cities without an internet connection while live traffic information can be accessed in over 40 countries.

The navigation service will also work with Samsung’s Car Mode and with Glympse, an app that lets people share their location, Here said.

Samsung also partnered with Nike on Friday to bring the Nike+ Running App to the Gear S. The application will be pre-loaded on the device, and users will be able to map runs and track progress while leaving their phone at home, Samsung said.