TomTom Announces OpenLR Initiative - Open Source Location Reference Technology
TomTom has announced a new open source program that shrewdly puts them in the middle of the map and location based universe should the technology be widely adapted. As in all open source moves, you give and you get; enabling a wide array of capabilities based on a technology specification that you control, enable and eventually profit from. No it doesn't mean free maps, but instead the technology platform that they live upon so that location based data uses the same Location Referencing technology.
The technology allows "enables reliable data exchange and cross-referencing using digital maps of different vendors and versions", according to TomTom. Could be a big, bold program if key stakeholders jump on; clearly TomTom and TeleAtlas are there.
I always like to see what's around the corner in these Location Based Services contests that tend to keep your finger on the pulse of newness and consumer needs. This year, the finalists include entries that search out what's happening sourced from peers and content feeds, a taxi ordering service from your mobile phone that also offers the ability for taxi firms to bid for your business, and a multi-modal point to point navigation service that takes into account surface, and air transportation options. From the NAVTEQ Press Release:
"We are very excited about the opportunity to help crown an overall global CHAMPION for the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge and I know that the ESNC experts will take their judging task very seriously. They represent a cross-section of well-networked influencers in the satellite navigation industry with a wealth of knowledge in helping smaller companies grow their business," commented Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of ESNC organizer Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen.
The three regional Grand Prize Winners from the 2009 Global LBS Challenge whom will be competing at the ESNC International Evaluation Meeting are:
skobbler GmbH, Germany - Grand Prize Winner EMEA: skobbler is a mobile application that allows young, urban consumers to share information, personal comments, useful tips and recommendations on places and activities around a city in realtime. The application combines, for example, local search of NAVTEQ dynamic content, such as events or movies, with sponsored advertising links and a full-fledged GPS navigation.
T+1 Solutions, Estonia - Grand Prize Winner Americas: Taxi4me is a mobile taxi ordering service that helps consumers anywhere in the world connect with trusted taxi companies. The desired time and destination is sent from a user's mobile phone to a taxi brokering server. Local taxi companies then submit competitive bids and proposed routes back to the consumer.
NAVITIME Japan Co., Ltd. - Grand Prize Winner APAC: NAVITIME is a point-to-point route search and multi-modal navigation service allowing users to get to their destination by any major transportation method - walking, driving, trains and subway, buses, taxis and airlines - and to explore cities visited through NAVTEQ Discover Cities(TM).
waze Launches iPhone App - Community Sourced Mapping
waze, a community sourced mapping company has launched an iPhone Application, available now in the iTunes store. Not only will they map the roads, but will offer traffic conditions too. I'll have to check it out.
Through a community of drivers, waze harnesses driver-generated data to build road maps and provide real-time traffic information to commuters. Unlike static maps and first-generation traffic networks, waze relies on a community of drivers to both populate the maps and provide daily traffic information. As more and more iPhone users download and use the app, the maps and traffic information will become more robust and accurate over time.
“This is just the start of a crowd-sourced project that will change the way drivers make their daily driving decisions,” said Noam Bardin, the company’s CEO. “Our community of drivers contributes driving information passively via our free mobile application and all members get to enjoy the outcome, namely free turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic information. As in all community applications, the more users drive with our app, the better the map and traffic data become for all. We invite anyone with an iPhone to join the revolution and help us build the world’s largest community of drivers.”
Trimble and NAVTEQ tie the Knot - Long Term Map, Traffic and Truck Navigation Data
Trimble and NAVTEQ have inked a deal with NAVTEQ supplying global map data as well as advanced information including traffic, and truck-specific information that NAVTEQ supplies. The information will allow Trimble to compete in Mobile Resource Management solutions through its suite of product offerings. As these capabilities continue to develop, the prevalence of usage has to increase. Look for bleed over of these capabilities into the consumer market as location based services continues to push forward.
DeLorme announced that they are entering the mapping arena for third party applications, OEM, etc. They now have routable streets as well as trails for the US, while also offering world wide data. The quality maps that you have seen on StreetAtlas, are now available for us elsewhere. Big step for them as they continue to expand their influence and flex muscle in the mapping area, an offshoot of their longtime application development and hardware development.
Waze is trying to change how people think and interact with their navigation device, by getting citizen mappers and traffic spotters out there to help generate an accurate view of the road network, traffic conditions and accidents. The Waze platform sits on your smartphone and anonymously sends information back about your location, speed, allowing you to "report" on your travels. With enough users, the platform can become highly accurate and allow for the most up to date information.
Waze announced that they are starting a public Alpha today and will open it up to a beta test later this year. The program is available only for the Android family of phones, and wil soon be available for the iPhone (now you're talking!). It's pretty ambitious to do all of this on a smartphone, but they have a history of success in Israel where they started.
"waze launched its first mobile application in Israel, where it has been downloaded by more than 80,000 commuters and is the fastest-growing navigation application in that market. Within less than a year the community created the entire navigable map from scratch, and real-time traffic information reached approximately 90 percent coverage and over 85 percent 'estimated time of arrival' accuracy. waze has tens of thousands of daily commuters in Israel, using it several times a day to receive optimal traffic-aware routing to their destination for free."
If you have been waiting to get a GPS, wait no longer, because NAVTEQ recently released results from a study it commissioned to understand the effects of using GPS navigation on miles driven and the overall effect on fuel efficiency. The study was conducted in Germany, among people who had not previously owned a GPS, and attached a data logger to their cars to capture trip distances, times, speed, etc. The study had three groups of users, 1) Drivers without a GPS navigation system (the control group), 2) Drivers with a GPS, and 3) Drivers with a GPS that is traffic enabled. The findings are pretty cool:
Drivers with a GPS drove about 1,500 miles less per year that drivers without a GPS when you annualize the data.
Drivers with a GPS get better fuel efficiency; about 12% better.
Drivers reduced their trip times increased over time as drivers learned how to better use the GPS. The trip distance savings increased for non-standard trips, which I would imagine are those trips where you are not as sure of the route.
Drivers who had the traffic feature had shorter trips during what would be considered Rush hours.
So, while the savings figures below are for a Euro driver where gas is higher per gallon than the US, I calculated a few figures for the US that might illustrate what a US driver might experience if the 12% increase in fuel efficiency held true as well as the 1,500 mile reduction in annual miles driven.
Savings for a Typical US Driver
Assuming a 22 MPG average in the US for the passenger car fleet, a 12% increase would represent 24.6 MPG. If you drove 15,000 miles originally, it would take 681 gallons of gas, or about $1,396 at the US average price of $2.05/gallon. With the GPS, you would drive 12,500 miles at 24.6 MPG, and you would use 508 gallons of gas totaling $1,041 per year at $2.05/gallon. A savings of $354.
If you up the quality of the systems used, I would imagine you would get better results. If you want to get better at driving more economically, try out the ecoRoute capabilities on your Garmin GPS. It's free with all new Nuvi's and is a free download for all Nuvi 205 and 705 series units.
TomTom has a pretty good deal running right now that offers quarterly map updates at $39 per year which is fairly cheap when you think about regular annual maps at usually about $79 per year. That's the basic comparison that they want you to look at, and for many people that's good enough. The key thing that you will need to know is that you need to have the latest release of the maps already installed on you device to be eligible to get the quarterly map updates. If not, you need to upgrade the underlying maps at a discounted price and THEN get the quarterly map updates. I logged in with an old TomTom ONE XL that does NOT have the latest maps on it, and it offered the Quarterly Map updates for $39 and then also required the latest regular maps for $39 (about 50% off); that's back to the $79 for a regularly priced map upgrade. So, no this won't get you updated maps for $39 on that stale old unit in the glove compartment. Think of it this way; Buy the latest Map Upgrade for $79, and you get quarterly map updates free for a year.
TomTom Home is the way to go and get the updates; download TomTom Home if you need to, and then log in to see the offer.
Financially speaking, this is a smart move for TomTom; a lot of people don't participate in these types of programs, and the discount, while deep, is a lot of incremental revenue that they can drive right now without much marketing or manufacturing expense. They already sold the "Razor" and now it's time to make money on those "blades" - they have an infinite supply of them laying virtually around; it's time to make some money on them.
Google Latitude - Your Big Brother is Watching You
Google Latitude is a new product from Google that allows you to let friends and family see your location, so that your big brother really could be watching you; whoever has access to the software and who you give permission to watch where you are.
The latitude software downloads onto your compatible phone (currently BlackBerry, Sybian based systems and of course the Andriod based Google Phones - not the iPhone yet) and allows you to share your location with others who have the Google Latitude software. Once loaded and sharing, the software offers to see your location on Google Maps, and chat or SMS with that friend starting directly from the Google Maps application.
Twittered lately? We've been on Twitter for a while and have enjoyed reading and writing in a different micro-blogging way. We have our feeds hooked up so you get the Tweet as soon as a post goes up. I have also been sending Tweets out on some quick bits that I find interesting; also passing along some of the other Tweets I find interesting.
One that I just found, courtesy of one of our readers, Jim, is a twitter feed of Rhode Island traffic issues, via RI DOT. RI is small enough to cover the whole state in one feed, giving you alerts on accidents - great if you have a mobile Twitter reader. Update: I have also found the State of Washington, and Oregon.
Google Earth now with Ocean Views and Historical Maps
For those who are really into mapping, Google Earth 5 has some nice features that you might like. Google Earth just got an upgrade and it now features topography below the ocean, as well as the ability to take a step back in time to see what was happening a few years back at that location - urban sprawl captured!
Snowmobiling is just one great way to enjoy winter - We are buried in snow here in MA, but on trip this past weekend to Middlebury VT, I was jealous of all the snowmobilers pulling up to the pumps to fill up and take off on another day of sledding on the trails. With any outdoor sport like this, I see the opportunity for GPS, and so do a lot of others.
This past December saw the launch of SledGPS.com, a commercial site with maps of 27 states, available as one collection for $125, or in one of 5 large regions, (i.e. NorthEast), which at $49, may suffice for most users. SledGPS.com says" Our Partner, US TrailMaps, has mapped over 100,000 miles of snowmobile trails, together with nearly 250,000 businesses related to the trails like parking areas for your trailers, gas stations and lodging along your routes."
An example of map coverage is here; with trails represented as the red lines superimposed on a Google Map. Head over to their site for more detail and for a view of your area.
The maps come with snowmobiling specific POI, which makes gassing up, eating, etc. lot easier on the trail. The maps are Garmin compatible, and I would recommend a larger screen handheld, like the Colorado, or the Oregon. If you are into this, you could also utilize the ruggedized Zumo too. I have traveled a lot with an eTrex, so getting into this for around $200 is feasible too; I would recommend a color version for better resolution and readability.
There are a lot of online sharing resources too, where you can get GPX files form other users, or in collections from many users, including sites like GPSSledMaps.com, or forums like GPSXChange.com, or SnowmobileForums.com. There are also sites that specialize in state specific maps - like for Michigan.
Tele Atlas Podcasts on iTunes - Beef up on you Mapping Knowledge
Just in case you didn't think mapping was cool - Tele Atlas has their own Podcast.... They can tell you a little bit more about how data is gathered and how it can be used to get you an optimal route to your destination.
"Tele Atlas, a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location based solutions, today added a new episode to the Tele Atlas Digital Mapping Podcast Series, which provides insight into industry trends, discussion of various topics related to digital maps and location based solutions, and timely details about Tele Atlas news.
The newest episode of the podcast of the series titled, "An Expert's Perspective on Digital Mapping Trends," will feature Dominique Bonte, Research Director at ABI Research, to discuss current digital mapping trends and offers an outlook for 2009. Margot Delogne, vice president of global communications with Tele Atlas, hosts this exclusive podcast, as well as the regularly scheduled discussions with various Tele Atlas executives and industry experts.
"Digital mapping now encompasses more than roads and road attributes to support applications for navigation and pedestrian location services, including more geographical content, visual enhancements and photographic content and most notably, dynamic content, which is becoming a major and vital enhancement," said Bonte. "The digital mapping industry has also evolved to engage the community of users, and this will be a key component to maintaining up-to-date maps with increasing richness and freshness.""
Navigon is going to let you pimp out your existing Navigon ride with some software extras that are designed to extend your current units so that they grow with you and help you out when you get in a pinch. The new software (which you need to pay for) includes:
Red Light Camera Locations - yes they are in the US, and you may just get a picture in the mail wit your car going through a red light and a nice citation. This comes as a subscription.
Euro Maps - expand your US Navigon to handle Europe for that big trip you have planned.
North American Expansion Pack - Only have the US Maps? Get Canada too.
3-D Buildings - cool to drive by and now your GPS can feature over 600 rendered buildings (seems kindof low, eh?)
Expanded POI - Missing businesses, or whole strip malls; the expanded POI set should help to get more detail and fresher content on your unit.
It seems like Navigon is taking the approach that they realize that people are hurting and don't want to go and buy a whole new GPS; thus the minor software upgrade. Yea, the things cost money, but I guess they need to make a buck too.
All available for various prices; timing this spring.
TomTom Announces OpenLR Initiative - Open Source Location Reference Technology
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