TeleNav

TeleNav's latest trick combines the functionality of navigation apps with the ubiquity of browser-based maps.

Of course, getting turn-by-turn directions on your phone is nothing new--just look at the Google Maps app--but it requires launching a discrete navigation app. Likewise, browser-based maps services are nothing new either--just look at the Google Maps Web page in your phone's browser--but usually they're static, lacking motion and live updates for location and directions. TeleNav announced today that it's blending these two technologies and delivering the first browser-based map service to also give turn-by-turn GPS navigation.

The HTML5-based service comes … Read more

TeleNav's new navigation platform promises to link cars and smartphones.

Drivers frequently find themselves consulting a phone for an address, then typing it into a car's navigation system. At the Telematics Munich conference, TeleNav announced a solution to this problem, seamless interactivity between smartphones and TeleNav-equipped cars.

A use case described to CNET by Mark Scalf, director of automotive products for TeleNav, involved a user getting an appointment notification on his cell phone, and easily sending the address for the appointment to the car's navigation system. After parking, the TeleNav system transfers navigation back to the phone, … Read more

TeleNav announced this morning that its GPS Navigator app for Android phones is getting a major update soon.

Designated version 7.1, this new update starts with a new My Dashboard home screen that presents a local map, commute times and traffic, shortcuts and a search bar at the user's fingertips upon launching the app. Users may not immediately notice once their trip is under way, but behind the scenes the maps feature a revised rendering engine that TeleNav claims is both smoother and faster.

Of course, no good Android app would be complete without a widget, so TeleNav … Read more

The risk of stepping on a rusty nail and contracting tetanus is nothing like the horror of spending a full week without an iPhone.

That's the sentiment of more than 40 percent of iPhone users queried in a national TeleNav survey who say they'd prefer to go shoeless for a week than give up their beloved smartphone. To be fair, the survey respondents were not informed that there is no known app for treating tetanus.

The online survey asked 514 American owners of both smartphones and feature phones a number of probing questions about their relationship with their treasured device.

iPhone owners seemed to have the strongest connection, with 40 percent preferring to give up their toothbrush over their phone, as opposed to only 22 percent of Android owners valuing their phone more than oral hygiene.

Chronic halitosis shouldn't deter an iPhone owner in the romance department though, so long as the target of his or her affection is another iPhone fan. The survey found that 83 percent of iPhone users thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners.

To keep that relationship healthy, it's apparently important not to force your partner to choose between you and a phone. … Read more

U.S. Cellular is teaming with TeleNav to bring turn-by-turn navigation to the carrier's smartphones.

On Friday, the carrier announced its Your Navigator Deluxe service that offers such features as voice-guided directions, 3D maps, speech recognition, more than 12 million business listings, and traffic and weather information. Even better, there isn't an additional fee to use TeleNav as it's all included in U.S. Cellular's new smartphone data plan, which costs $30 per month.

Supported smartphones include the recently announced Samsung Acclaim, as well as the HTC Touch Pro2, HTC Snap, the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630, … Read more

Canadian iPhone users on the Rogers network have another option for turn-by-turn directions with the Rogers Navigator app for iPhone.

When you download Rogers' app, you get speech recognition for destination entry and search, text-to-speech reading of turn-by-turn directions with street names, and real-time traffic alerts with one-click rerouting around congestion or incidents. Rogers Navigator also integrates your iPhone's contacts data so you won't have to enter the addresses you already have in the phone, and integrated iPod controls so that you won't have to leave the app to manage your tunes.

The app has a pair … Read more

TeleNav announced on Monday that it will make its TeleNav GPS Navigator application available to the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G when it goes on sale on August 5. It will be the first location-based service to launch on the MyTouch 3G and customers will be able to try it out for free for 30 days before signing up for the $9.99 per month unlimited access option.

According to the location-based service provider, TeleNav GPS Navigator has been optimized for the Android smartphone and offers 3D moving maps in portrait and landscape mode, text- and voice-guided directions with text-to-speech functionality, and … Read more

On Thursday, TeleNav announced that starting February 24, it will make its location-based service, TeleNav GPS Navigator, available to T-Mobile G1 owners, bringing real-time turn-by-turn navigation to the Google Android smartphone.

In addition to turn-by-turn driving directions, TeleNav GPS Navigator offers traffic alerts with one-click rerouting, business searches (with more than 10 million listings), gas prices, weather updates, and restaurant reviews.

Speech recognition is also supported, meaning that you'll be able to press a button on the G1, dictate an address or business, and TeleNav will then route to the destination. Alternatively, you can preplan trips through TeleNav's … Read more

On Tuesday, location-based service provider TeleNav released new features for its connected portable-navigation device, the TeleNav Shotgun. The added functionalities include a mileage tracker and the capability to check ratings and reviews for points of interest (POI), such as restaurants, hotels, and so forth.

The Mileage Capture tool was designed with business users in mind so that they can track their miles and record them for any clients or jobs. You can capture your mileage on a specific route or from any user-specified start and end point. Once you return to your office or home, you can then connect the … Read more