Looking to drive mobile customers in the right direction, Mapquest recently announced two new services that offer navigation capability via cell phone.
AOL unit MapQuest recently unveiled a mobile map service that customers can use on their cellular phones, complete with voice directions, text and maps in a bid to expand on the popularity of its Internet maps.
The MapQuest Navigator will be marketed as a cheaper alternative to navigation systems built into cars. Available as a free download, the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) gives customers access to maps and directions on a Mapquest Web site optimized for mobile phones.
In order to get the software for the service to consumers’ phones, MapQuest is working on agreements with cell phone operators. The service could work in cell-phones sold by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel, the company said.
The service is a joint venture between Mapquest and Infogin, an Israeli company whose flagship IMP (Intelligent Mobile Platform) product reformats Web content for viewing on small screens. "Infogin is providing the technology for this service," said a Mapquest spokesperson. "They are helping us build a platform to offer access to Mapquest.com via mobile phones."
On a separate note, Mapquest also collaborated with Telmap, another Israeli company geared toward mobile mapping, to launch a mobile navigation application based on MOND (Mobile Optimized Navigation Data) technology. Telmap launched MOND in late March 2006.
A big part of our future is mobile … We have users of mapquest.com that already trust us. This is just a better way for us to guide our users to their destinations, said Alan Beiagi, MapQuest’s general manager of wireless.
MapQuest, which has about 40 million monthly users of its Internet driving directions and mapping services, hopes its online popularity and features such as turn-by-turn voice prompts give it an edge over offers from rivals such as Google Inc. and InfoSpace.
Sprint recently started offering directions and other local data from InfoSpace.
A Mapquest Navigator GPS-enabled phone will look like a regular cell from Sprint or Nextel, for example, but when the user views their phone features they will see a built-in Navigator option or icon. Navigator, which Mapquest says will compete with existing in-car GPS systems, is designed to offer users relevant maps and vocal turn-by-turn directions to any destination via mobile phones.
Using only GPS-enabled phones, people will be able to get text, audio and visual instructions on how to get to the places they need to go, said Beiagi. "We are working with all wireless carriers and expect the product to be available for around $9.99 per month."
Telmaps’ Navigator is the only commercially available product that works on every major phone platform on the market – including Symbian, Java, BREW, and Blackberry – while remaining independent of individual cellular networks, according to the company Web site.
The product includes a number of additional features, like optimized routing calculation – shortest route or no tolls, for example – pedestrian navigation capability, color maps with zoom, pan and point on map functions, and plenty of POIs (points of interest). Navigator draws its POIs from the same database as Mapquest.com and also allows users to communicate locations with friends via SMS.
Mapquest maintains that the product is safe when used in a safe manner (i.e. mounting your cell phone in a cradle on the dashboard).
The MapQuest Navigator aims to commercialize location-pinpointing technology that is being put into most U.S. mobile phones, along with MapQuest’s online map technology.
Navigator is part of Mapquests’ broader vision for this year of making these devices available to consumers on all mobile devices, according to Beiagi.
U.S. cell phone service providers are required by law to put location technology in new phones in order to help public safety workers find callers in an emergency.
But while a brand can help gain consumers’ attention in what is an emerging market, it is not enough unless the service works well, independent media analyst Greg Sterling said.
"It gives it a jump start, but brand is only as good as what it delivers," said Sterling, who said he believes that such services are "several years away from mainstream adoption."
Sterling said he had not test-driven the application. According to mobile research firm m:metrics, about 4.3 percent of U.S. mobile users used map services on their phone in the month of January.
Beiagi expects MapQuest’s combination of text with voice prompts and text instructions will help make such services attractive for consumers.
"We recommend you do your planning in advance, not while driving – go to Mapquest.com, plan the route and program your Navigator device," said Beiagi. "It is there to guide you with audio instructions to your destination, but you also have the benefit of [seeing] visual instructions when you are at a stop sign or red light."
If you are in a car…you want to be able to make a decision extremely quickly. The best way to do it is to have a voice prompt, he said.
Once the user has planned their trip, Navigator stores that data on the device so driving directions are always accessible. There is no need to return to the server for updated or additional instructions while en-route.
We realize cell phones have dead zones and that there are places where you may be out of the coverage area, said Beiagi. Once you have planned your trip, the application downloads and stores that data on your phone, so if you do go into a dead zone there is enough information stored on the handset to guide you out.
Mapquest expects to make the Navigator product widely available by Q3 2006, via all wireless carriers that offer GPS-enabled phones. Details on specific partnerships have not yet been made available.
Beiagi said that pricing of the service would depend on carriers but he hopes consumers would pay subscription fees in the ballpark of about $4 or more a month.
AOL and MapQuest are owned by Time Warner.