Let your phone guide you home!

CABO FINISTERRE, Spain – Back when everyone believed the world was flat, people thought these rocky shores on Spain’s windswept “coast of death” were the end of the world.

In today’s world, you only need a mobile phone to get there… and back. Route finders, once the realm of US$100 000 executive cars, have been part of advanced handsets since this summer.This feature is available from Netherlands-based Route 66, one of several companies, including US-based Teletype and Germany’s Navigon, that brought navigation software to handheld computers over the last two years.But some have been looking for simpler and more ubiquitous devices to tap into a potential market of tens of millions of customers.”You can’t explain a Pocket PC to your mother,” said Job van Dijk, founder of Route 66, one of the market leaders in CD-ROM-based maps.That device requires a desktop computer to install maps and a tech-savvy mindset.In a brainstorming meeting last year, his company decided that mobile phones were the way to… “It’s the only device that everyone carries around, all the time,” Van Dijk said.It was a bet on the future because phones powerful enough to handle navigation software had yet to come on the market, and rivals like Dutch TomTom and France’s ViaMichelin were already enjoying early success with route finders designed for handheld computers.The excitement around handheld navigation is due to the relatively low price tag.With the navigation capability spreading from a luxury vehicle to a handheld computer, the price to get through a mediaeval maze that defines many a European town dropped overnight from some US$4 000 (about N$25 000) to less than US$1 000 (N$6 000).Plus, the consumer got a pocket PC that doubled up as an organiser.In 2003 some 700 000 global positioning systems modules were sold in Europe alone.About 65 per cent of those were bundled with a handheld computer, indicating they were sold as a navigation package, according to market researchers.Mobile phones have now caught… Handset makers like Nokia, Siemens and Sony Ericsson have introduced so-called smartphones that can load computer-like applications, while also offering an organiser, music player, camera and photo album, and e-mailing device.Germany’s T-Mobile has started offering a free Nokia 6600 phone loaded with Route 66 navigation software to customers who take a subscription.Customer research by T-Mobile has shown that navigation is the third most desired application on a mobile phone.The potential market for smartphones is much bigger than those for handheld computers.Smartphones overtook sales of PDAs late last year, on the back of Nokia’s popular 6600.Market research from Gartner, Canalys and others indicate that in four to five years, global sales of smartphones will reach 170 million, compared with slightly more than 20 million this year.Their sales doubled in the first quarter, while shipments of handheld computer sales stayed flat, Canalys found.- Nampa-ReutersRoute finders, once the realm of US$100 000 executive cars, have been part of advanced handsets since this summer.This feature is available from Netherlands-based Route 66, one of several companies, including US-based Teletype and Germany’s Navigon, that brought navigation software to handheld computers over the last two years.But some have been looking for simpler and more ubiquitous devices to tap into a potential market of tens of millions of customers.”You can’t explain a Pocket PC to your mother,” said Job van Dijk, founder of Route 66, one of the market leaders in CD-ROM-based maps.That device requires a desktop computer to install maps and a tech-savvy mindset.In a brainstorming meeting last year, his company decided that mobile phones were the way to… “It’s the only device that everyone carries around, all the time,” Van Dijk said.It was a bet on the future because phones powerful enough to handle navigation software had yet to come on the market, and rivals like Dutch TomTom and France’s ViaMichelin were already enjoying early success with route finders designed for handheld computers.The excitement around handheld navigation is due to the relatively low price tag.With the navigation capability spreading from a luxury vehicle to a handheld computer, the price to get through a mediaeval maze that defines many a European town dropped overnight from some US$4 000 (about N$25 000) to less than US$1 000 (N$6 000).Plus, the consumer got a pocket PC that doubled up as an organiser.In 2003 some 700 000 global positioning systems modules were sold in Europe alone.About 65 per cent of those were bundled with a handheld computer, indicating they were sold as a navigation package, according to market researchers.Mobile phones have now caught… Handset makers like Nokia, Siemens and Sony Ericsson have introduced so-called smartphones that can load computer-like applications, while also offering an organiser, music player, camera and photo album, and e-mailing device.Germany’s T-Mobile has started offering a free Nokia 6600 phone loaded with Route 66 navigation software to customers who take a subscription.Customer research by T-Mobile has shown that navigation is the third most desired application on a mobile phone.The potential market for smartphones is much bigger than those for handheld computers.Smartphones overtook sales of PDAs late last year, on the back of Nokia’s popular 6600.Market research from Gartner, Canalys and others indicate that in four to five years, global sales of smartphones will reach 170 million, compared with slightly more than 20 million this year.Their sales doubled in the first quarter, while shipments of handheld computer sales stayed flat, Canalys found.- Nampa-Reuters

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