Spring 2006

Navigation specialist Telmap is claiming that its latest technology shifts satnav on mobile phones up to a new level of sophistication.

The company is calling the technology MOND, for Mobile Optimized Navigation Data, and says its "conquers the technical and usability challenges associated with the small display size and limited resources" found in many handheld devices.

Telmap navigation is the kind in which route calculations are normally made on the server, and digital maps are fed wirelessly to the mobile device as required. This differs from typical in-car systems, where the mapping is held locally.

The downside is that a lot of data transfer can be involved, especially during a long or complex journey. However, MOND aims to get over this hurdle.

 

When the route is calculated, the resulting map dataset now includes not only the route requested, but also all relevant roads in the surrounding area. This large dataset is re-formatted and heavily compressed at the server end, then is all made available locally to the user's device. So the device shouldn't need to keep going back to the server for extra information.

Advantages are said to include faster route adjustment when the user makes a wrong turn; opportunity for the driver to make phone calls on the way (since there is no downloading in progress); viable routing even at the edge of the mobile phone service area (since the mapping is already on board); and moving maps that adjust as the journey progresses, without any need for new data to be downloaded.

Telmap navigation is available on Java, Windows, BlackBerry and Symbian mobile phone platforms, plus the BREW system (not currently used in the UK).