LBS

Uber Signs a mapping deal with TomTom

TomTom has signed a global, multi-year agreement to provide maps and traffic data for the Uber driver app. It will be implemented in more than 300 cities around the world. http://fortune.com

Singapore Tourism Board launches digital services for Chinese tourists

Chinese visitors to Singapore can now explore the city with the help of WeChat and Baidu Connect, with the launch of the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) suite of digital and mobile services for this market on Oct 21.

The launch comes as Internet penetration reaches 668 million people in China, of which 89 per cent of these users access the Internet from their mobile devices.

The digital and mobile services launched by STB include the new YourSingapore WeChat and Baidu Connect that will provide consumers with real-time locationbased services to help them explore Singapore. www.channelnewsasia.com

Ola partners MapmyIndia for better navigation

Taxi aggregator Ola has partnered with MapmyIndia by acquiring a multi-year licence. This “first-of-its-kind” partnership in the country would also enable consistent map updates from MapmyIndia to Ola, making the data rich and relevant, he said. http://gadgets.ndtv.com

Google maps now available offline in india

Google India has announced that its Maps app will be available offline with features such as voice-based turn-byturn navigation while in offline mode. At Google I/O 2015, the company had revealed plans to bring offline search to its Maps app and had stressed it was aimed mainly for “emerging markets” where Internet connection was spotty, and data charges were expensive, as navigation via GPS was independent of mobile networks.

The launch of offline Maps in India comes just days after Google officially introduced the feature on Android. While offline Maps were available previously on the app, features including offline navigation and search features are some of the additions. For using an offline map, users will need to download the map of an area on the device, and it will continue to work when there’s no connectivity. Once an area has been saved for offline access, users can also enable turn-by-turn driving directions as well as search for specific destinations even when there is no Internet connection.

The company explains that when a connection is found, Maps will switch to online automatically and will allow users to access the full version of the app such as live traffic conditions for the current route. It’s worth noting that Google Maps will only download offline areas on the device when on a Wi-Fi connection. http://gadgets.ndtv.com/