Mobile show the way

AMSTERDAM: A car navigation company is using the increased power of the latest mobile phones to debut the world's first route finder service that works without any help from a personal computer or a mobile telecom network.

Privately-held Dutch firm Route 66, already one of Europe's biggest sellers of CD-ROM-based car navigation kits for use on personal computers, said it would sell road maps of an entire country and the necessary navigation software on a tiny memory card that can be inserted into the latest advanced phones.

It is the first time detailed maps for countries such as France or Britain are stored and used on a phone.

The software works on advanced phone models from Nokia, Samsung, Siemens and Sendo, which cost between 400 and 500 Euro before subsidies.

As part of the 399-euro package, which includes a satellite-positioning module, users can opt to receive free traffic information, which the route finder can use to avoid busy areas.

Until recently, car navigation kits cost thousands of Euro, but privately held companies such as TomTom and Route 66 have started bringing them to much cheaper, hand-held computers.

Route 66 is now expanding into the even bigger market of mobile phones, which have enough computing power to handle small computer-like applications. Market research firm expects this segment to grow to 170 million units a year within four years.

Also, French mobile phone service provider Orange launched a 499-euro-route finder service. It sends directions of a specific journey to handsets over the air, and does not work with a map stored on the phone. Sweden's WayFinder has a similar package that does not use a specific mobile network.

© Reuters