Vodafone live! NAVI Mobile Phones / Vodafone Posted by zmcnulty on Sep 07, 2005 - 10:38 AM |
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You've seen the handsets [1], now it's time to take a look at the service. "Vodafone live! NAVI" is the company's service that utilizes a phone's GPS function to offer location information, routes, and where to get a nice bowl of noodles. One good feature of the service is its ability to work overseas -- asking for directions in a foreign country is always difficult, so hopefully this service could spare at least a few people the headache. It's a pretty complete service, offering walking directions, driving directions, and location information. Vodafone will introduce "Vodafone live! NAVI" in early October, a service that provides not only domestic walking directions, but driving directions even while overseas through various contents providers. Supported handsets include the "903T." "Vodafone live! NAVI" is a new service that provides navigation information such as current position and directions by using a handset's GPS function. Using the service costs data charges. The service does not use GPS alone; through the use of "Network Assist," position information can also be relayed through the phone network, enabling usage of the service while roaming overseas. The 903T includes a trial version of "Zenrin Itsumo Navi" created by Zenrin DataCom, and allows for 15 days of free usage of the service. The service has been announced in conjunction with 10 different contents providers offering a total of 12 t ypes of service. Services include search for places to drink, searching for driving directions, traffic information, and other specialized services; when combined with the 903T's GPS function, navigation services can also be used while overseas and/or driving. When using the service overseas, there may be some cases where determining a user's position takes several minutes. Transmission costs are the same as the standard international roaming costs. Currently, the service can be used in England, Holland, Spain, Germany, and Hong Kong. The company plans to expand this area.
Inspired by: http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/25550.html [3] Press Release: http://www.vodafone.jp/japanese/release/2005/050907_2.pdf [4] 903T, Navi |
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This article is from TechJapan http://www.techjapan.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1112 Links in this article [1] http://www.techjapan.com/Article1111.html [2] http://www.techjapan.com/images/0905/090705/vnavi01.jpg [3] http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/25550.html [4] http://www.vodafone.jp/japanese/release/2005/050907_2.pdf |
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