TeleNav to launch traffic service for GPS phones

TeleNav will add live traffic information to its navigation service for some GPS-enabled mobile phones in the U.S. from Monday.

The company already offers the TeleNav GPS Navigation service, which guides drivers to their destinations using mobile phones equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System). TeleNav Traffic adds additional functions, including advanced warnings of slow-moving traffic and other obstacles, and the ability to calculate new routes on the fly to avoid problems.

The Santa Clara, California, company plans to unveil the service at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Another company, Dash Navigation, will be demonstrating a GPS device with live traffic information, Dash Express, at the show, although it will not go on sale until later this year.

The Dash Express and TeleNav Traffic will both use live traffic data supplied by Inrix and are destined for the U.S. market, but that's where the similarities end. The Dash device, due for launch later this year, is a dedicated in-vehicle unit with Internet connectivity. TeleNav Traffic, on the other hand, combines an online service and a software download for certain GPS-enabled mobile phones.

Mobile phone operator Sprint Nextel will be the first to offer TeleNav Traffic, shipping the software on three of its mobile phone models: the Motorola RAZR, Motorola KRZR and the Sanyo Katana.

A subscription to TeleNav GPS Navigation costs $9.99 a month, while activation of the traffic service will initially be free. From July, subscribing to TeleNav Traffic will cost an additional $3.99 a month.

TeleNav's software displays maps and driving directions on the phone, but most of the clever parts of the service are performed by the company's servers. That's where routes are calculated and audio files of driving directions prepared with that data then pushed out to the subscriber's mobile phone for display or playback. It's the server, too, that monitors traffic conditions along the prepared route, and provides warnings and alternative route recommendations if appropriate.

"If there is an accident ahead of you, we tell you, and if you want to reroute you just have to hit one button," said TeleNav President and Chief Executive Officer HP Jin.

Outside the U.S., TeleNav offers its navigation service in Brazil and China, and will shortly launch a service in Mexico. The live traffic service, though, will only be available in the U.S. for now.

"We have a clear plan to go global," Jin said. That plan will bring the company to Europe soon. "We will be targeting the U.K., Germany and Italy as our first three major markets."

One complication in Europe is the necessity to work with many national sources of traffic information, as GPS users there can easily cross several international borders in a few hours' drive.

"Working with different providers is more of a partnering challenge, not a technology one," Jin said, adding that the company's system is ready to accept data from different sources.

REFERENCES:
Dash, Yahoo bring local search to GPS device, Jan. 3, 2007