Satnav watch links via text to handsets

Rating: Devices appears progammable for LBS

Here’s a way of accessing highly accurate location information with an ordinary mobile phone. A GPS/GSM capable wristwatch which doesn’t even require a Bluetooth connection – the GPS watch uses SMS instead. Better still no-one would know you’re carrying a GPS receiver because it looks like a normal digital watch.

Nokia mobile navigation news nukes TomTom shares: is there life left in pure navigation?

Following up on our story this morning about Nokia’s new navigation service comes news that shares in TomTom have taken a dive since the announcement. TomTom makes devices that specialise only in navigation - but in a world where mobile devices can do the job just as well, do companies like TomTom have a place?

Nokia throws its weight around - new Ovi Maps mobile navigation service is free

In 2008, Nokia bought digital mapping and navigation company NAVTEQ for around $8 billion. That’s a pretty hefty price tag, even if NAVTEQ is widely regarded as the best mapping company around - and Nokia is trying to get its moneys worth. Today sees the launch of a revamped Ovi Maps, with a tonne of extra features added for free.

Take a closer look at Augmented Reality as Lonely Planet launches Android mobile guides

We’ve been excited about Augmented Reality (AR) here at GoMo News for some time now. Not merely the stuff of sci-fi anymore, the growth of high-speed mobile devices with good cameras, GPS and faster data connections have made it a real possibility. And when one of the most popular travel services in the world gets involved, it’s time to start paying closer attention.

LBS awakened in Samsung Jet phone at last

Rating: Get your bits from Route66
Strange but true, when the loan Samsung GT-S8000 (Jet) handset arrived at GoMo News Labs [We joke. Ed], the GPS facility was completely disabled. Today, we finally got it going. But what a struggle!
The most worrying aspect is that potential users of the Samsung LBS facility effectively have to be [...]

Navmii benefits from iPhone application

Rating: GPS for iTouch via Wi-Fi
The benefits of constructing an application which was primarily intended for the iPhone market have just been accrued by software vendor, Navmii.
The company is on the verge of launching its Satnav/LBS application for the iPhone. But one of the most bizarre spin-offs is that the company has accidentally created [...]

Mobile navigation shows its strength at MobileFocus 2009

The MobileFocus event at CTIA is always worth going to - companies from all parts of the mobile industry come together and show off their latest in portable and wireless innovation. A big difference between MobileFocus 2009 and previous years was the greater number of navigation companies who had a presence there, which highlights the growing popularity of mapping services on mobile devices. And so we’ve put together a video package for you - Mobile Navigation at MobileFocus!

CoPilot navigation app for iPhone hits Europe with massive price hike

American developer ALK Technologies has announced that it’s navigation application, CoPilot Live, is now available for the European market. The service has been available for North America since August 14th for 35 dollars. So I’m somewhat amused that the “Europe” version costs 60 pounds sterling. That’s around 100 dollars.

Google Maps update: new traffic service follows in Verizons footsteps

Google Maps has added a particularly nifty function to its mobile service - a “traffic” button. The addition monitors traffic in your area in real time, and can advise you when it is best to take a different route. And much like the extremely similar service announced by Verizon in mid-July, it will gather the traffic data it needs from GPS-enabled devices. From you, in other words.

Windows Mobile phone from Garmin could replace your sat-nav

The use of GPS-enabled mobile phones for navigation and location is old hat at this stage - so much so that “location-based services” or “LBS” has become a buzzphrase that gets thrown into most proposals and press releases. However, most location services on a phone can’t stand up to a real sat-nav device. The navigation services are imprecise and clunky compared to those on a specifically designed navigation device. That could be set to change as sat-nav company Garmin releases the Nuvifone M20 - a mobile phone designed by a sat-nav firm as a sat-nav device.

Ad-Funded Mobile GPS Navigation offered by Optimus Portugal

LBS, for me, is a lost generation of mobile services. Location-based offers in the past ten years never found their sweet spot and made more of a fizzle than a bang in mobile. But it seems that finally, a decade later, times are changing.

Mobile map app from Telmap and O2 comes pre-loaded but not free

Mobile operator O2 UK and digital mapping company Telmap have announced an agreement. The deal will see a custom-made GPS application from Telmap appearing pre-loaded on O2 handset. Telmap Navigator will be embedded on the majority of O2 handsets from this autumn. But just because it comes embedded on your phone doesn’t mean it’s free. Oh no - two weeks after you buy your handset, you either have to pay for it or lose it.

Mobile advertising company YOC creates an iPhone Application for Post Mobil

YOC has created an application for the German Post office “Deutschepost” (see iphone.deutschepost.de)

AT&T launches GPS mobile tracking service for small and medium businesses

AT&T today announced the launch of a new GPS service for mobile devices. Powered by Xora, the application is targeted at tracking and managing mobile workforces for small and medium businesses. The cool things about this service are that it will work with pretty much any device on AT&T, and it doesn’t require any downloads. Businesses who want in just pay a monthly fee of $21.99 per device to be tracked.

Nokia scores large for mobile location and navigation services in Europe and Russia

Results have been released today from a study into mobile navigation and location-based services. Close to 3,200 people were interviewed in Europe for this survey, with another 600 in Russia. The study found that an overwhelming majority of people regard Nokia as being the best for mobile navigation.

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