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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Webraska Announces the Launch of the 1st Hybrid GPS Navigation Worldwide
Paris, France - February 11, 2008 - Webraska, the inventor of the off-board GPS navigation on mobile phones, announces the world premiere launch of the "hybrid" GPS navigation, simultaneously operational in on-board and off-board mode.
Until now, the applications of GPS navigation, increasingly becoming popular on mobile phones, were either functioning in "on-board" mode, where the maps are resident on the terminal, or in "off-board" mode, where the maps are stored on Internet servers.
The on-board mode does not require any network connection and the maps are provided on an SD cart (2 Giga bytes for Europe), locally accessible and without any additional cost. On the other hand, no dynamic information is provided to enrich the service and the geographic coverage is limited to the data available in the memory of the device. The update of the maps is complex and payable. Knowing that more than 10 000 roads, traffic circles, motorway entries, traffic directions are created or modified each year, obsolete maps can be a true handicap.
The off-board mode offers a quasi-unlimited geographic coverage, with automatically updated information (maps-provided by NAVTEQ, points of interests, speed cameras) and even real-time information (traffic, personal addresses book, etc). However, a network connection (GPRS, Edge, 3G, 3G+...) is necessary during the calculation of the initial itinerary and to access the points of interests, knowing that the patented IbDN® technology of Webraska assures that no other network connection is required during the ride, only if a predefined zone (broad corridor around the calculated itinerary) is abandoned.
Thanks to the hybrid navigation, the two modes are finally joined together in the same product, offering at the same time, the advantages of both modes without their deficiencies.
The user selects the mode which is convenient to him:
“On-board” for the comfort of the navigation and the local recalculation
“Off-board” (on-line) to have access to the latest updates on traffic information in real-time, or to drive in a country not covered by maps on the terminal
Consequently, it is possible to buy the maps of whole Europe (version Q3-2007 of NAVTEQ), but to only install a selection as for example France, London or Madrid, while keeping the possibility to calculate pan European itineraries, (e.g. Evian - Geneva, Helsinki - Oslo, or Lille – Brussels) at any moment and without additional installation.
Another possibility of usage: to buy the maps of France for a daily usage, and to buy the rights (e.g. only one specific day) to access the maps of Europe and North America for an occasional displacements in on-line mode.
The hybrid navigation system Webraska, which is the subject to an international patent filling, switches automatically from the on-line mode to the on-board mode in the case of network unavailability.
Webraska’s hybrid navigation of is for the moment only available for smartphones functioning under Windows Mobile® of Microsoft. The software is free and the maps can be used with a flat rate either in on-board mode or on-line without additional expenses, except possible connection costs.
All the updates of the NAVTEQ maps and speed camera locations are included in the price and automatically available via the on-line mode or on-board by downloading them from a PC.
The other innovations for Webraska Navigation V7.5H include: the predictive address search, the transmission of an address or a map by SMS, a better management of the points of interests and favourites, the possibility to finish an itinerary by foot, as well as the access to the maps of the United States and Canada and even more countries in Europe.
About Webraska
Webraska is a trade mark, business unit of masternaut*. Webraska is one of the leading providers of geospatial software platforms and mobile GPS navigation solutions, «off board» and «on board» for telecom operators, fleet (vehicles) managers and major Internet services providers worldwide. Webraska counts in particular among its customers: Orange, Vodafone, Mobitel, Yahoo !, Sensis/Telstra, Qualcomm, TMN, Nextel, Intelematics, Raywood/Sigtec and Punch Telematix. Webraska is member of Nokia Pro Forum, Sony Ericsson Developer World, Palm's Select Partner Program and BlackBerry ISV Alliance Programme.
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