Feb/Mar 2008

A different slant on location-based services has been taken by ALK with its mobile-phone-based CoPilot Live satellite navigation system. The company has made it possible to link the application directly to Microsoft's Live Search API (application programming interface).

The result: users can key in general search criteria such as 'bank' or 'coffee', and the system will automatically look up the nearest matches to the user's current location.

Search results can be previewed and added to a journey plan, which is supported by spoken and on-screen turn guidance. The system will also be capable of displaying community-generated reviews and rankings, helping users make an informed selection.

ALK says that CoPilot Live takes advantage of the built-in mobile Internet connectivity of mobile phones, and it contrasts this with other some recently announced personal navigation devices, which it says require the expense of an additional mobile contract for connected services.