Redmond, Washington — Software major Microsoft Corp., today announced that it has inked a licensing deal with geo-positioning startup Navizon to offer geolocation for mobile users. Navizon Inc., (formerly Mexens Technology) in a statement said that under the deal that would empower tech giant to use Navizon’s global location database to provide an enhanced experience to its mobile users.
According to industry expert Leena Rao states that startup Navizon “crowdsources GPS positioning with its community of more than 1 million registered users from all over world.”
“This agreement with Microsoft confirms the power of Navizon’s crowd-sourcing technology,” said Cyril Houri, founder and CEO of Navizon, Inc. “We are thrilled to see Microsoft join our fast-growing list of customers who have chosen Navizon for geo-positioning”.
Microsoft has recently introduced a latest version of its Windows Mobile operating system, but so far its unclear exactly how Navizon’s technology will be incorporated into Microsoft’s mobile offerings.
Navizon is a software-only hybrid wireless positioning system, that caters to users in navigating the most major cities across the globe. Navizon functions by triangulating signals broadcasted from Wi-Fi access points and GSM, CDMA and 3G cellular towers, and the company’s software is now embedded in numerous smartphone applications which is rapidly becoming essential tools for the modern urban lifestyle.
Navizon also has the capability to operate in the background, allowing the user to open other applications on a device at the same time. Navizon has diverse community of around one million registered users spread across various platforms and carriers. Through speedy growth in numbers, the community of users is able to constantly improve the precision and success rates of its wireless geolocation system.
Navizon is usable on most mobile platforms such as Blackberry, iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian/S60 and Java phones. The Navizon positioning engine can be accessed by third parties through Navizon’s catalog of Enterprise solutions. In July 2008, the US Patent Office acknowledged the innovative nature of Navizon’s positioning technology by issuing a patent for its hybrid positioning technology.
Navizon has already inked a deal with Yahoo! Mobile last year to power geo-location as a large customer. Navizon faces acute competition from Skyhook Wireless, which is employed by Apple to help power geolocation on the iPhone.