Vodafone selects Tele Atlas to power location-based apps

GENT, BELGIUM: Tele Atlas, a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, and Vodafone Group have announced an agreement whereby Vodafone will use Tele Atlas digital maps and location-based content across its global footprint for the company’s location-based services (LBS) and navigation offerings.

Through the agreement, Tele Atlas and Vodafone will collaborate to enable powerful LBS, routing and mapping applications for mobile users around the world.

The agreement gives Vodafone access to Tele Atlas’ global digital map content and products, including 24 million points of interest (POIs), 3D Landmarks, 2D City Maps and Digital Elevation Models, which give local search application users maps that more closely reflect their surroundings.

Vodafone will also gain access to Tele Atlas Speed Profiles, which provides highly accurate speed data to help navigation application users find the most optimal routes and far more accurately estimate travel times.

Bobby Rao, Director, Internet Services Marketing and New Business Director at Vodafone Group said: "In an increasingly connected world, we are constantly striving to enrich our customers’ lives by enabling them to communicate wherever they are with the tools and services they need. Accurate location content is at the heart of many of these offerings, allowing Vodafone to deliver a powerful, seamless mobile experience around the world, based on up-to-date maps and content."

"We’re very pleased to partner with Vodafone to bring their customers fresh, accurate maps and innovative location content," said Bill Henry, CEO, Tele Atlas. "As the leading map provider we’ll focus on delivering the richest experience to Vodafone customers that advances their mobile lifestyle."

Intrinsyc Destinator 9 sets new standard for navigation experience

VANCOUVER, CANADA: Intrinsyc Software International Inc., a leading provider of software solutions for mobile devices, has announced the general availability of Destinator 9, a leader in cross-platform GPS navigation software.

The newest version of Destinator delivers the mobile industry’s highest quality user experience in navigation devices, with a host of new capabilities and features designed to get people to their destinations easily, quickly and safely. Destinator 9 is available for Android mobile phones, Microsoft Windows Mobile smart phones, Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) and connected PNDs based on Microsoft Windows Embedded CE.

“Destinator 9 is the culmination of months of research and development directed towards one goal: making the user’s navigation experience the very best in the world, whether you are driving in your car or walking around a city,” said Souheil Gallouzi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Products Development, Intrinsyc.

“In addition to the new UI, we focused on connected navigation features, making it easier to seamlessly look up, find, and call businesses directly from the map screen, as well as to discover and display local POIs from Internet search engines.”

Destinator 9 features and functions
NavStrip – A unique UI feature that enables one-click access to key navigation functions such as address entry, route, and search. Destinator 9’s NavStrip provides the quickest path to navigation with the fewest clicks.
Sidebar – Destinator 9 incorporates a new visual navigation aid while in landscape mode. At the user’s option, the SideBar is displayed side-by-side with the map to provide upcoming maneuvers, speed, trip time, and distance.
Gesture Recognition – With Destinator 9, users can swipe, pan, and kinetically scroll through maps with the flick of a finger.
New Map Views – Realistic horizon, sky, and road signs, map rendering with anti-aliasing technology and optional satellite views provide for a more visually satisfying experience.
Dial a POI – Calling any Point of Interest (POI) or businesses directly from the screen is easier than ever before. Clicking a POI in navigation mode brings up its address and phone number (if available) and a single tap on the number initiates the call.
Local Search – Destinator 9 leverages the most popular online search engines to support local searches and display the corresponding results on the map. A single additional tap brings up directions.
StickyPOI – Clicking the new StickyPOI icon on the NavStrip opens a menu of popular categories. Tapping on a category, such as hotels or restaurants, automatically displays the nearby POIs on the map. One more click brings up directions.
Tap N Go – Navigate to any map location with just two taps of the finger from Destinator 9’s proprietary Tap N Go popup menu.
Save N Send – Quickly save and retrieve locations on the map and share them with friends and colleagues via text messaging services.
OTA - Over-the-air updates make it easier for carriers to roll out additional features and location-based services (LBS) such as real-time traffic, travel guides, cheapest gas, and parking space availability.
Try & Buy – Support for “try & buy” allows consumers to purchase the Destinator 9 software after a trial period of use.

The audio/visual turn-by-turn navigation features of earlier versions, which have made Destinator so popular in the marketplace remain intact. These include on-screen speed limit indicator with audible warning; broad geographic map coverage with current maps from multiple sources; optional visual lane guidance to eliminate confusion at complicated interchanges; optional safety camera support; and support for all major languages.

Destinator is an on-board navigation software solution, enabling the user to have superior navigation in areas of poor cellular coverage. With maps and POI data stored on a memory card, on-device storage is preserved for your personal content.

Leveraging the power of a connected device, Destinator software can be periodically updated via a download over the Internet while local search and POI data can leverage an off-board content server for additional services. Benefits of this approach include higher map rendering performance, greater reliability and a significant cost savings for carriers and consumers. Map display is instantly and readily available on device memory, with no latency except for CPU processing power.