LBSfix.com

GPS Article in Wireless Week

An interesting article highlighted the cover of Wireless Week in the latest print edition - click here for article. The article, written by Brad Smith, was titled GPS: the Mobile Way.  The article takes a stab at challenging the in car navigation business, saying that navigation from a GPS enabled mobile cell phone is better.  A few points that highlight the argument include the cost – it is cheaper to run and update navigation apps on a cell phone than embedded.   Also, cell phone based navigation systems are not powered on the handset, rather they are networked application which eliminate the need to buy expensive cards to update the systems database.

It was a good and thorough article; however it excluded comments from Sprint Nextel who has led the way with GPS on cell phones.  A major focus was on TeleNav, and there was no mention of Garmin, Rand McNally, MapQuest and others who are in the space.  Did these guys not return calls for comment?  I wonder. 

Some interesting highlights include:

• Qualcomm is stating that they have shipped over 200 million handsets with embedded GPS via their gpsONE technology.
• Ken Hyers of ABI Research says that there are 12 million subscribers worldwide utilizing GPS on their cell phone.  He expects that number to reach 315 million in 5 years.
• IMS Research is predicting a 40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenues attributed to cellular based GPS applications.
• Cingular, who recently launched TeleNavs navigation application has been pleased with the results - "Based on our plans, we are ahead of our sales expectations," Laura Johnson senior director of enterprise solutions.
• Verizon is claiming that their pricing model for VZ Navigator is one of the reasons that it is so popular with subscribers.  Verizon offers the service for $2.99 for 24 hours of usage.
• Rob Rovetta of Qualcomm thinks that we will be seeing more social networking applications in the future…buddy finders and date finders.

NAVTEQ ups ante in LBS Challenge and adds Nokia as Sponsor

More out of last weeks CTIA - NAVTEQ announced that they are upping the prize pool to $2million in cash and data licensing for their annual LBS Challenge.  Is LBS coming of age?  Is NAVTEQ trying to buy more exposure/PR?  They also announced that Nokia will become the Global sponsor - new release here.

Irregardless of the specific motivation, I personally think that LBS is coming of age,  I say kudos to NAVTEQ.  $2million, even for PR purposes is a lot of money.  I have know a few companies that have placed and some that have won their respective category, and this recognition means a lot. 

Other changes to the program include:

• Expanding an already elite panel of judges with representatives from  major wireless carriers, industry experts, and venture capitalists including Bain Capital, Cingular, Helio, i-Hatch Ventures, MK Capital, Motorola, Nokia, Openwave Systems, Sprint, T-Mobile, Telus, and Verizon Wireless;

• Offering new NAVTEQ content specifically tailored to the demands of the wireless market. LBS Challenge contestants will be given free access to NAVTEQ’s newly launched NAVTEQ Traffic Mobile™, NAVTEQ City Guide™, and NAVTEQ Traffic Patterns™. 

Hmmmm...interesting to see Helio and Cingular on the list of panel of judges.  I am not sure if they have participated in the past, but it looks like a good sign to see the three top carriers on the list.  Also interesting to see the VC firms.  Is this their chance to take a look under the covers of some of these companies?  Is it a opportunity for them to buddy up with the carriers to see what the carriers think (i.e. are you gonna put this on your deck and promote it?)