NEWSBRIEFS –LBS

Nov 2008 | Comments Off

INDUSTRY | LBS | GPS | GIS | REMOTE SENSING | GALILEO UPDATE

Motorola launches GPS-based touchscreen phone

Motorola has launched its touchscreen GPS-enabled phone offering navigation maps and landmarks of 30 cities in India. http://economictimes.indiaticommes.

Google Earth for iPhone

Google Earth is now available for Apple’s iPhone mobile handsets and iPod touch mobile entertainment centre. The application is available in 18 languages and in 22 countries.

deCarta to launch LBS API for the iPhone

LBS platform supplier deCarta has launched an application programming interface (API) for deCarta Mobile that supports rapid development of location-aware applications for the Apple iPhone. deCarta previously announced support for J2ME compatible phones.

Garmin launches car and boat navigation device

Garmin has released a PND, the GPSMAP 600 series that combine in-car and marine navigation on a 5.2 inches touch screen in a rugged casing. The GPSMAP 640 will be available in the US and 620 for the rest of the world.

Mio PND gets into Skoda cars

Mio has partnered with Skoda to make available a Mio PND as a navigation option to Skoda Fabia, Fabia Combi and Roomster. The device will be similar to these of the Mio Moov range.

GPS banned but Apple plans to sell.

Apple plans to sell its iPhone handset in Egypt, in defiance on a ban on the sale or use of GPS devices by the Egyptian government. Meanwhile, rival phone maker Nokia shall refrain from selling its GPS equipped handsets there. The laws have been sponsored by the Egyptian military on security grounds preventing the use of any device with GPS. Existing online maps by the likes of Google, Nokia or TeleAtlas are either non-existent or of very poor quality due to the problems of accurate data. It is impossible to use them to develop incar mapping systems for instance.

SatNav Tech to distribute Destinator for Symbian

Intrinsyc and SatNav Technologies have entered into a new agreement under which, SatNav will distribute the re-launched Destinator for Symbian software to be used on various models of Symbian smartphones sold in India. It includes the SatNav ONE-India map that covers all major cities of India. http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com

MapmyIndia releases iNav application and car navigation devices

MapmyIndia has released iNav, a GPSbased application for mobile phones. It transmits user’s exact location to the ones concerned and vice versa any time of the day or night, eliminating the need of worried calls to know whereabouts of the near and dear ones.

BPCL in India launches vehicle tracking system

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has launched a GPS based vehicle tracking system for its 5,200 tanker trucks fleet. It will help the company track the trucks for better logistic efficiency. It will also prevent pilferage and fuel adulteration. http://www.bharatpetroleum.com

SatNav Technologies adds 1 million points of interest

SatNav Technologies has enhanced its maps by adding 1 million Points of Interest (POIs), with important ones also having specs like addresses and contact numbers in them for 12 important categories of POIs across 8 major cities in India. This is the first time any company has built content at this magnitude which will provide a huge value add to the end customers. http://www.satnavtechnologies.com

Qualcomm Technology Enables Mobile Phone Based on the Android Platform

Qualcomm chipset will enable the first Android-powered mobile phonethe T-Mobile G1, manufactured by HTC. By integrating its chipset hardware and software capabilities with Android, it has played an integral role in bringing the first Android handset to market. http://www.qualcomm.com

NAVTEQ announces Industry Strategy for Map-Enhanced ADAS

NAVTEQ has developed a new Map and Positioning Engine (MPE) strategy. Making Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) available to all vehicles without an installed navigation system or navigable map. Behind this strategy is NAVTEQ’s new MPE reference solution, which accelerates the development of ADAS applications embedded directly in a vehicle’s electronic control unit, often referred to as the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, or electronic sensor. http://www.navteq.com

Orange to provide road traffic data based on GSM signal

Wireless operator Orange has recently unveiled a platform to generate road traffic data based on signal events in its wireless network. This platform is able to transform its GSM signal data into real time average speed on any road segment. The same kind of technology is used by TomTom for its HD traffic service in cooperation with Vodafone’s European affiliates, Airsage with Sprint in the US and IntelliOne with Rogers Wireless in Canada. However, this is the first time an operator is developing this technology by itself.