Hamburg,
Germany –
launched the industry’s first on-board navigation app for Windows
Phone 7 smartphones in the U.S.
The
app, designed for the Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) version of the OS, is available
in the Windows Marketplace at an introductory price of $29.99 through Nov. 15,
after which the price goes up to $49.99. The app features spoken turn-by-turn directions,
visual lane guidance, live traffic information, and rerouting.
The Windows Phone app joins the company’s
on-board
navigation
apps for the Apple iOS and Android smartphone platforms
.
Because the app is an on-board app instead of
a cloud-based app, Navteq maps and routing algorithms are installed in
smartphone memory, enabling navigation without the need to connect to a
cellular network.
Features
include Reality View Pro, which displays photo-realistic views of actual
highway/interstate signs, exits, and lane-guide markers. Lane Assistant Pro
prepares drivers for upcoming exits or turns with a lane map. The app also
features real-time traffic from Inrix, enabling the app to calculate an alternative
route to avoid congestion.
The app’s Reality Scanner feature uses
augmented reality to identify a nearby point of interest while the user is on
foot. Users point the smartphone in any direction to see points-of-interest icons
appear directly onto a live camera view.
The Navigon Shortcut feature lets users save
any address as a home-screen shortcut to start navigating with only one click.
A Speed Assistant feature alerts drivers when they exceed the speed limit s and
notifies them of speed and red-light cameras.
Other features include Google Local Search,
one-tap access to help users find emergency locations such as hospitals and
police stations, and ability to select a destination from the phone’s contact
list.
