Map24 Brings Maps to Mobiles
SEPTEMBER 5, 2006. Map24 is launching Map24 Mobile, a free route planner, navigation and search aid for mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
With Map24 Mobile, users have access to mapping facilities in the same way they use the popular Map24 service online. Unlike static mapping applications, Map24 Mobile is highly intuitive and interactive, with the user-friendly functionality mirroring the Map24.com portal, albeit on a handset and smaller screen. Even the familiar three-dimensional representations of the popular maps are integrated into Map24 Mobile.
Map24 Mobile runs on multimedia mobile phones and PDAs which have mobile Internet access. Map coverage is available now for Europe, with North and South America, the Middle East and Australia due for launch shortly.
Map24 Mobile has an abundance of intelligent features which are intutitive and easy to use. A single entry field means that the user need only enter address details such as the postal code, the city or a street name, in any order . The software will find tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and other points of interest without the need for a complete postal address. So if you're looking for The Tower of London, Tower Bridge or Blackpool Tower, details of these and millions more points of interest are available free of charge.
Points of interest are powered by NAVTEQ - www.navteq.com - a leading provider of digital map information for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions. NAVTEQ data provides a highly detailed and accurate representation of road networks including up to 160 attributes like turn restrictions, physical barriers and gates, one-way streets, restricted access and relative road heights.
Users registered at the free MyMap24 service can also download their personal online address book onto their mobile device. This means that important addresses will always be available for route calculation as starting points or destinations.
Commenting, Chris Wallett, UK managing director of Mapsolute, which owns Map24, said: "More and more people are using online maps for route planning and navigation, and for other uses such as finding venues. Route navigation is becoming more popular in cars, as we've seen the growing usage of satellite navigation. With Map24 Mobile, people can now use their mobile phones to plan their journeys and find extremely useful mapping content. It's free, easy to use and extremely useful whilst you're on the move."
Map24 will make further services available to mobile users shortly, including the ability to send emails and integration with Microsoft Outlook. The Map24 Mobile software can be downloaded at www.map24.com.