Canalys surveys Taiwanese and Indian consumers about navigation and LBS
Market research firm Canalys highlighted a recent consumer survey in Taiwan for GPS navigation and LBS on mobile phones and PNDs. The survey found more than 80% of Taiwanese being familiar with what satellite navigation could do. With 60%, the idea of searching for directions on the web and printing them out was either the first or second most common method used to plan a route when travelling to a new place for the first time. http://gpsbusinessnews.com

Highlights of Indian consumers survey about navigation and LBS
Canalys also surveyed around 1,200 Indian consumers which indicated that there is significant potential for certain navigation and LBS, particularly among younger, tech-savvy, middle class consumers. While India is still in its very early stages as a market for PNDs, and GPS is not yet widely understood as a technology, it is already a significant market for smart phones, with over 3.5 million shipping there over the past year.

Indian consumers willing to share their location 87% of those surveyed said they would be comfortable to let someone see their location if their phone were to broadcast it continuously. 45% said they would want this restricted to people they chose specifically, one-third would be happy to let their spouse or partner see this information. These comfort levels were higher than those shown by consumers in several Western European countries surveyed by Canalys last year.

GPS navigation solutions, whether on a phone or on a dedicated device, also have great potential to make life easier for drivers in India. Of the frequent road users surveyed, 38% said they get stuck in traffic jams at least once a day, a further 27% said they encountered congestion every time they travelled and another 22% at least once a week. Two-thirds of those that get stuck in jams said the average delay was 10 to 30 minutes, with 11% finding it was usually even longer. 58% of those that got stuck in traffic regularly said they would be willing to pay for a solution that re-routed them around the jams, while only 5% said they did not need such a system.
http:// bangalore.canalysnavigationforum.com

Garmin, TomTom and Magellan dominate latest ratings
Garmin, TomTom and Magellan are still making the best GPS. The three brands accounted for 16 of the top 20 rated models in the latest tests in Consumer Reports June issue. Rounding out the top five scoring units were the Garmin Nuvi 760, 660; TomTom Go 920T, Garmin Nuvi 350 and Magellan Maestro 4250. www.ConsumerReports.org.

Geotagging hits mobile phones
Sony Ericsson will introduce geotagging with its C702 mobile phone out this year helping users to tag multimedia on their phones using standard GPS information. It will enable them to arrange their photos and videos not only be date or time but also by location. http://mybroadband.co.za

Asus P230 GPS PDA handset
Asus P320 comes with GPS, camera, PDA functionalities as well as a phone in one device. It works on Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system for easy access to documents for presentation. www.techgadgets.in

Yulop kicks off location-based search
Yulop, a Bangalore, India-based locationbased startup is launching its locationbased search service using triangulation technologies and offers consumers listings of find businesses (shops, restaurants etc.) based on geo-tagged data from its database. It plans to offer service in six more cities. http://gigaom.com

MapmyIndia launches 'iNav' navigation services
'MapmyIndia has launched 'iNav,' - GPS navigation solutions for mobile phones.

According to company Director Rohan Verma ''our vision is to make maps and navigation as an integral part of the country's basic infrastructure. After making maps freely available on the internet via MapmyIndia. com and launching of MapmyIndia Navigator for in-car navigation, we hope that GPS navigation can benefit all mobile phone users across the country.” www.mapmyindia.com

ASUS-Lamborghini launch the ZX1 PDA phone in India
ASUS and Lamborghini, together, launched the ASUS-Lamborghini ZX1 PDA phone that runs on Windows Mobile. Along with other feature it is also equipped with wireless 802.11b+g, Bluetooth v2.0+EDR, USB2.0, 3.5G and even GPS. www.tech2.com

SatNav launches SatGuideTM on laptops and desktops
SatNav Technologies has launched SatGuide turn-by-turn navigation and planning solution for laptops and desktops for the retail market. SatGuide’s laptop and desktop version can help improve his efficiency by at least 15% during a trip by an individual outside his/her office or to another city. www.satnavtechnologies.com

Dialog and IWS GIS launch Sri Lanka’s first Mobile SatNav
Dialog Telekom PLC in partnership with IWS Geographical Information Systems has launched first Mobile Navigation System in the country. It is a fully featured GPS based mobile navigation system incorporates a digital street directory of Colombo which includes Class A, B, C and D roads in the Colombo Municipal Council area and suburbs. www.dailymirror.lk

StarHub launches Singapore’s LBS mobile advertising
StarHub has launched Singapore's first nation-wide LBS for mobile advertising. For advertisers, send marketing messages to subscribers when they are in contextually relevant location. For customers, they get appropriate messages to what they are doing, both on a where and when basis. www.intomobile.com