Nokia expands HERE Traffic coverage with 16 new cities in Russia, bringing national coverage to 31

Nokia is adding HERE Traffic information for 16 cities in Russia in order to keep Lumia smartphone owners notified of the busiest roads and recent accidents that have occurred, as well as the most direct route to their final destination.

The new locales covered by HERE Traffic are as follows: Izhevsk, Kemerovo, Orenburg, Omsk, Lipetsk, Naberezhniye Chelny, Irkutsk, Ryazan, Saratov, Stavropol, Sochi, Surgut, Volgograd, Tyumen, Vladivostok and Barnaul.

Traffic information is now available across 31 cities in Russia, in addition to the 33 countries covered by HERE Traffic data worldwide.

HERE Traffic is used by a number of different hardware manufacturers and automotive specialists operating in Russia, including Alpine Electronics and Carmani Supply Chain Specialists. Nokia says Russia is also affected by “some of the world’s worst traffic conditions,” which means that the extended coverage should be a welcome addition for those drivers looking to save time and avoid irritation on the road.

The HERE branding is often associated, however, with the group of mapping apps available almost exclusively on Nokia’s current range of Lumia smartphones. This includes HERE City Lens, HERE Maps and HERE Transit, although the traffic information announced today will likely be used to bolster HERE Drive+ Beta, which offers voice-guided turn-by-turn directions.

“Reliability and timely information are not trivial concerns for Russian drivers,” Ogi Redzic, Vice President for Traffic at HERE said.

“At HERE, we gather and process billions of real-time GPS data probe points every month to deliver high quality, automotive grade maps so that drivers can better maneuver through traffic. Our expansion in Russia underscores our deep commitment to providing local market expertise and helping people in the country save time, fuel and experience less stress while driving.”

Nokia continues to push its range of exclusive apps and software features through its new high-end Lumia smartphones, such as the new Lumia 925 announced in London earlier this month, as well as the Verizon-exclusive Lumia 928. It’s arguably the reason why Nokia has managed to keep such a stranglehold on the relatively small smartphone market share created by the Windows Phone mobile operating system.

An event scheduled by Samsung next month exclusively for new Galaxy and ATIV devices – the latter of which is the branding for its range of Windows Phone handsets – could change all that, however.