June/July 2003

A graphical navigation system called Polaris that is compact enough to run on any Java-enabled mobile phone has been launched by Telmap. It is said to be compatible with a variety of phone models including the Nokia 6310I and 7650, the Motorola T720, the Sony P800 and the Siemens SI45i.

Polaris represents one of the latest generation of "off-board navigation" systems - which means (not surprisingly) systems that aren't hard-wired into your car or truck. Telmap sees Polaris as "bringing navigation to the mass market."

Part of its secret lies in Telmap's compression technology, which is able to reduce the Navigation Technologies digital mapping to a size that can be transferred quickly from the server to mobiles via GPRS without lengthy and expensive downloads.

The system can calculate either fastest or shortest routes, and despite its compact nature, it includes turn-by-turn instructions in voice, graphical and text formats. It also takes advantage of points of interest content in the NavTech mapping.