Following a $29M NEA-lead Series A finance round, German mobile navigation software supplier Jentro broke the mold from historical Carrier-marketed billing-on-behalf-of distribution models to support a free, D2C ad-subsidized mobile navigation offering via Das Ortliche—a leading online directory services content provider in Germany. The O-Navi offering is a European first, leveraging house-hold branding for discovery independent of carrier billing. GPS Business News suggests the move will introduce pricing pressures into the increasingly complex mix of competitive consumer navigation options available. I imagine this is just the beginning of more alternative branded D2C models yet to disrupt the market. Congrats to Erno Hempel and the Jentro team for taking the bold leap!