Nokia adds Groupon to Lumia maps

The ‘Groupon Now’ offers will be indicated by a green ‘G’ icon, alerting users to discounted deals and encouraging them to visit participating retailers.

The new feature will not arrive outside the US, however, until Nokia launches phones featuring the new Windows Phone 8 software. That is expected to coincide with the launch of Windows 8 on October 26.

Groupon has struggled in some markets because it highlights deals that, while they are not far away, users do not consider to be local. Subscribers in London, for instance, have complained that Groupon should alert them to deals in their part of a city where it can take hours to cover comparatively small distance.

Nokia perceives its mapping expertise to be one of its most valuable assets, and has been looking at new ways to make money from such services. It is keen to compete with other providers such as Google and TomTom.