Despite being the most popular and successful North American LBS application to date, generating a significant percentage of total LBS revenues, other opportunities exist beyond navigation, namely with location-enriched communications that leverage the inherent immediacy and presence power of the mobile network. T-Mobile US understands this...

While GPS enables traffic and navigation services, the core of the T-Mobile brand is about connecting our customers to the people who matter most.

TMo wants to

define and create experiences that enhance personal relationships and enrich all forms of personal communications, while also contributing to the value proposition of My Faves.

With the iPhone and Android there's a lot of focus now on location as an autonomous function and capability of the device, rendering the network to an irrelevant bit-pipe that has no role in the L part of LBS. That's certainly true for local search, navigation, publishing, and other device-centric Web applications, but TMo evidently knows that SIP-based immediacy in the network can be used in a way to add the "L" relevance back into the mix. Well done on them and werd up to my homey Tim Dunn.

Here's a prediction... 

2008 probably marks the death-knell of the standalone GPS navigator.

-Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung

The last question of this morning's Garmin earnings call set the record straight with a priceless answer.  "You can call it fear, you can call it strategy.  We think our planned acquisition of Tele Atlas is inline with our corporate strategy."  Following that remark, Garmin, like Nokia-NAVTEQ before them, and TomTom-TA before them, again said the same thing - "the acquisition will not impact the open market conditions of supply to those who use our map data."  If that's true, then why does Garmin feel pressured to step up and counter TomTom's bid?!

Add another free Nav app to the list of southern hemisphere offerings. Phoneit GPS, a South African "location-based services company who provide mobile information systems and tailored solutions" launched amAze, a free mobile phone Navigation download.  With Israeli LBS-old-timer LocatioNet behind the curtains, the announcement broadens their distribution reach to the 'A' in EMEA.   

Nokia's series of LBS bomb drops on the industry over the last two years has changed perspectives, attitudes, and business models overnight—the kind of disruption to be expected when the worlds #1 "multimedia computer manufacturer" gets serious about a line of business strategic to continued worldwide domination. When emerging competitive threats from new disruptive entrants such as Apple [and purportedly Google] begin to surface, and their Mobility strategies hone in on Location as the key asset for contextual mobility, you'd expect the world's mobile leader to take note, and make aggressive competitive moves to counter the threat. Nokia's acquisition of digital map data provider and world leader NAVTEQ is just that move. I'm relieved NAVTEQ is joining the community that built the LBS landscape now diversifying beyond Telecom-specific offerings into other converged areas, versus becoming part of a community that thus far has reduced map data value to worthlessness at the expense of gains from other sources of sponsored revenues.

That said, as I've muddled through the thousands of pieces of press covering the Nokia-NAVTEQ story, and as I compared NAVTEQs move following Tele Atlas' own to join TomTom [which could lead to a further subsequent buyout by another suitor], I thought perhaps both aren't so great for Americans.  Nokia will be the first to admit their US presence is somewhat challenged—it always has been thanks to deregulation and a myriad of wireless technologies and spectrum in this country beyond GSM. TomTom is the European offline P-Nav leader but struggles against Garmin's leadership in the US. Both Nokia and TomTom don't do well here and their historical and future focus is elsewhere. With CRIB nations representing the bulk of the mobile demand going forward, focus will head in that direction.  What will be left of the hometown?  Is there an opportunity lost, or one yet to emerge?   

Vodafone Australia is now offering a free, promotional Blackberry 8310 navigation service for one year if users register by December 1, 2007, with future plans to fully subsidized the application with business-sponsored local advertising.  White labeled by Yapp Mobile [with backend GIS support provided by MapInfo!], Vodafone Compass offers all the basic bells and whistles found in other pay-for navigation applications.  Thanks for the shakeup mates! 

...Even if Apple sold all existing iPhone inventory, penetration would still only account for 1% of the worlds total mobile device shipments.  So while reports indicate Apple has selected Broadcom/GL as their 3G supplier for connectivity and GPS silicon for the next US iPhone release, which reads big across our location technology ecosystem, look for Broadcom's larger impact to go noticed when Nokia starts their 3G global market GPS invasion.

-The Street 

I should have started my day on European time. TomTom and Tele Atlas issued joint press today announcing the sale of TeleAtlas to TomTom for around $2.5 Billion. Scratch previous suggestions that perhaps the two were growing apart. This move will not only enhance the navigation product reach while reducing TA OPEX with streamlined user-generated data collection science, but it also blocks new competitive entrants who would otherwise threaten TomTom’s future. Obvious threats include Google and Nokia. With news of the TA sale, NAVTEQ stock was up 16% today at noon EST, with investors salivating at the possible sale of the other member of the once global duopoly. So, it seems previous rumors live-up to their possibility and a race is now on between Google and Nokia for NAVTEQ, but in that race, it’s hard to imagine folks like Microsoft to sit on the sidelines and give-up their already tremendous investments …

Naturally, a number of other smaller navigation suppliers are biting their fingernails today. What happens to folks on both sides of TeleAtlas and NAVTEQ’s usage? Here’s a compressed list of smaller navigation application solutions providers and their respective database usage preference. Will they be abandoned… consumed…? It’s hard to imagine they’ll continue to receive product to support a competitive effort.

• Appello - NAVTEQ
• ALK - NAVTEQ
• Clarity Communications - NAVTEQ
• Dash - Tele Atlas
• Destinator - NAVTEQ
• Garmin - NAVTEQ
• Jentro - NAVTEQ
• Networks in Motion - NAVTEQ
• Motorola - NAVTEQ
• Nokia/Gate5 – Tele Atlas
• Navigon - NAVTEQ
• Mio – Tele Atlas
• Navitime - NAVTEQ
• Route 66 - NAVTEQ
• TelMap - NAVTEQ
• TeleNav – Tele Atlas
• WaveMarket – Tele Atlas
• WayFinder – NAVTEQ
• Webraska – NAVTEQ

Also, I wonder about the major developer ecosystem efforts of both Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ going forward. Why engage a developer community that builds competitive end-user product? Perhaps outreach strategies will shift towards engaging other content publishers and media companies vs. developers who build function. This will be interesting to watch…

Intermap [a long-time supplier of supper-high-resolution LIDAR-derived digital elevation models and other remotely sensed products], inked a deal with German Visteon Corporation “to provide accurate 3D road geometries for the entire country of Germany." 

Derived from Intermap’s proactive NEXTMap ^® Europe mapping program, the data will be incorporated into the development of advanced applications of a 3D road vector map database for use in future automotive systems. The initial focus will be on predictive adaptive front lighting systems, which offers enhanced visibility for drivers at night by directing the headlamp light, before the driver directs the vehicle into the bend.

With high quality LIDAR data like Intermap's, it conceivable that other smart transportation and navigation features beyond intelligent headlamps could include digital fuel-governing when traveling uphill vs. downhill all the way out and beyond to futuristic semi-automated robotic vehicles that drive themselves. 

Following week-old news of Telenity’s enablement at Indian carrier BSNL [shout outs to Nitin Patel wherever you are!], Bharti Airtel revealed an order with Swedish Wayfinder for GPS navigation services atop their 8800 RIM Blackberry, validating a previous post hinting at the win via a content deal with MapmyIndia. With LBS heating-up in India, it's interesting to observe the abnormal flip-flop of GSM out ahead of CDMA when launching location-based infrastructure and applications.  Any comment Reliance?