Although more and more cars are shipping with integrated satnavs (it's become standard in most models), there are still times when you'll need to rely on a good old standalone satnav to get you from A to B.

Whether you want to use it as you're wandering London's streets, getting to and from meetings or haven't upgraded your car to one that includes an integrated satnav, it's essential to find one that can accurately get you to your destination without any hiccups.

You should also consider extra features when choosing which one's right for you. Are you likely to be driving in heavily congested areas, so need to know about traffic hold ups along the way? Will you be partaking in motorway driving and would like it to provide data about service stations on the route and would you like the ability to add waypoints if necessary?

The obvious bonus of using a satnav app on your smartphone is they're usually cheaper and less bulky than standalone satnavs. However, you'll have to buy a phone holder for your car if you're using it there, so you don't get fined the new penalties of 200 plus six points on your license for using your phone while driving.

In this test, we looked at dedicated hardware satnavs as well as apps for both iOS and Android devices. We tested all of them using the same route to ensure a level playing ground. This involved a drive through the countryside near Harlow via a short stretch of motorway before heading through the suburbs and then to our final destination in the East End of London.

We also tested how well each device or app could find places even if we didn't know the precise address. We felt it was necessary to do this as you may not always know details such as postcodes or house numbers (or the destination may not even have a number).

We also looked at how quickly each satnav would find GPS satellites and the speed at which the device/app devised the route to the destination and also how accurate we felt that route was. We also judged how good the instructions were while driving.

Our roundup includes, in the case of hardware satnavs, the Garmin Nuvi 68LM, Garmin Zumo 390 LM, TomTom Go 6100 and TomTom Start 60. In the case of apps, we looked at TomTom, Google Maps, Apple Maps, CoPilot and Navmii.

If you are looking for the best satnavs, you have reached your destination.

The test

We set up all the hardware in our test car. Understandably having more than one satnav running in a car at anyone time could be distracting, so our tester set up two at a time and plugged in the same route while the driver concentrated on driving; the tester would be monitoring the devices. All devices were updated prior to testing.

Finding a route

In the tests, we found virtually no difference in the routes offered by any of hardware devices. Of course, most devices offer traffic updates and lifetime updates to the included maps.

Apps however, did seem to have different opinions of how best to get to our first waypoint. As with the hardware devices, we typed in "McDonald's Harlow" as the destination. While Google Maps and Navmii agreed with the hardware devices, Apple Maps and Co-Pilot chose different routes. Most of the hardware and app satnavs picked a route from our start location in Buckhurst Hill through Epping Forest and Epping to the waypoint. Apple Maps favoured getting on the M25 and M11, while Navmiii favoured a route via the M11. None of these routes are particularly wrong, just a little odd.

Where the real difference lies is in how quickly you can find a destination. Given that our day-to-day satnav has been Google Maps and more recently Apple Maps, we are used to just typing in a place or road and letting the app figure out what we are getting at. Most of the time this works very well.

With some of the apps and the Garmin Zumo, finding a place to drive to without a street name or postcode requires a few more steps. For Garmin Zumo, you can either tap on an icon such as one for restaurants or petrol stations; this adds a few more clicks before the starting your journey.

Surprisingly, the TomTom app wasn't as good as its hardware counterparts' OS. Again, it suffered from the slightly circuitous way of finding places without postcodes and road names. With both TomTom hardware devices, finding a place to drive to was as easy as it is with Google Maps.

Co-Pilot is another app that could do with simplifying the process of finding places. This is found within the "Find POIs" or Points of Interest part of the interface after a few taps.

To be fair, this isn't too hard once you get used to the quirks of each hardware satnav or app, but there are clearly still improvements to be made.

The second part of our route, this time to Bow in the East End of London, produced similar results with the hardware devices all giving broadly similar directions, while the smartphone apps had similar variations of route as previously.

Spoken directions

By and large, all the hardware and smartphone apps gave good, clear directions. We noticed that the Zumo was quickest to give directions, followed by both TomTom devices (the Go slightly beating theStart). The Garmin Nuvi was last to give directions to a turn, but all gave directions in a timely manner.

None of the smartphone apps ever beat a hardware device to giving directions first. This could be down to the GPS receiver in a smartphone not being as good as the one in a dedicated satnav. However, none of them gave directions too late.

Screen size and quality

The hardware devices had many different screen sizes and types. The TomTom Go, TomTom Start and Garmin Nuvi were the biggest at 6in, but the screen of the TomTom Go was much brighter and clearer than its sibling, the Start 60, or the Garmin Nuvi.

The Zumo is a special case as it is meant for motorbikes, so it is smaller enabling it to fit on handlebars. This touchscreen can be seen in direct sunlight too.

Interface

By far the best user interface was found on the TomTom devices. It was clear and easily understandable, although the on-screen keyboard was a bit quirky looking. The Garmin interface on the Nuvi and Zumo seemed a bit more old-school and could do with an overhaul to make it easier to understand.

The Zumo was particularly difficult to navigate around, which we thought odd as it is going to be used by bikers, presumably wearing gloves. The keyboard was particularly clumsy where you have to constantly toggle through options to get to the right letter, but we suspect that the keyboard buttons had to be dramatically enlarged as wearing gloves makes typing difficult otherwise.

The smartphone apps were all good. The only partial exception was the TomTom app which looked a little dated, resembling the user interfaces of long discontinued hardware TomTom satnavs, but it still worked well in practice.

I've got the power

If you are going to use a satnav for any length of time, then connecting it to your car's cigarette lighter or 12v output is necessary. While the TomTom devices were happy to be powered using any USB cable and a USB adaptor, the Nuvi wouldn't settle for anything other than the charging cable it came with. This means that it takes up the whole 12v port, meaning you can't use it to power anything else, a tad inconvenient when you have multiple devices requiring power in the car.

The Zumo is quite happy to run off its own battery for a while. It does come with attachments to hook it up to the motorbike's power output. These are all waterproof.

Of course, the smartphone-based satnavs can run off battery power or use their own USB cable to connect to a USB port or adaptor.

The extras

This round up focussed on getting from A to B as quickly and safely as possible. Each product offers a slew of other features to help with making journeys more efficient.

All the products tested offer lifetime map updates. The TomTom Go 6100 adds lifetime traffic and speed cams to the mix.

The Zumo has a host of features for bikers, such as Curvy Roads, which helps a biker safely navigate winding roads. The TomTom Start has three months of Speed Camera information.

On the app front, Co-Pilot can download maps for navigating when out of signal range. It also includes traffic monitoring free for the first year. Navmii also has downloadable maps and has up-to-date traffic information provided by its community of users. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps also provide walking and public transport directions in addition to driving.

Conclusions

As all the products tested managed to successfully find good routes to our various destinations, it fell to other issues to decide which satnavs were the best.

As far as hardware satnavs are concerned, the admittedly pricey TomTom Go 6100 pips the Garmin Nuvi 68LM as the best satnav. Its big and very clear screen coupled with a great user interface and lifetime updates for everything mean that TomTom has thrown in everything bar the kitchen sink.

As for the best satnav app, Co-Pilot edges it over TomTom with a less dated UI and 12-months of free traffic updates.

TomTom Go 6100

Speed 5/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 5/5

User Interface 5/5

Features 5/5

Price 300

TomTom Start 60

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 5/5

User Interface 5/5

Features 4/5

Price 140

Garmin Nuvi 68LM

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 5/5

User Interface 3/5

Features 4/5

Price 150

Garmin Zumo 390LM

Speed 5/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 5/5

User Interface 3/5

Feature 4/5

Price 350

TomTom for iOS

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 5/5

User Interface 3/5

Features 4/5

Price 30

Google Maps

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 4/5

User Interface 4/5

Features 4/5

Price Free

Apple Maps

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 4/5

Instructions 4/5

User Interface 4/5

Features 3/5

Price Free

Co-Pilot

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 5/5

User Interface 4/5

Features 4/5

Price Free (in-app purchases extra)

Navmii

Speed 4/5

Accuracy 5/5

Instructions 4/5

User Interface 4/5

Features 4/5

Price Free (in-app purchases extra)

Seals living on Scotland's Orkney islands are to receive Internet of Things (IoT) tags as researchers try to understand why their population is in decline.

The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at the University of St Andrews is to conduct a three-year government-backed study, attaching telemetry tags to the fur at the back of the heads of several Orkney seals.

The lightweight tags will then be cast off when the seals moult, the scientists have said.

The marine tags, which are being supplied by Vodafone, use the mobile operator's latest machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to send vital information from a seal when it surfaces or beaches directly back to SMRU for analysis.

Vodafone's M2M technology has been used in new cars, heart monitors and smart meters, but this is the first time it will be used to monitor the wellbeing of marine mammals.

Harbour seals are one of two seal species that reside in the UK, and their numbers have declined by up to 90 per cent in some areas in and around the north and east coasts of Scotland, including Orkney, since the year 2000, according to SMRU.

"Over the last 15 years, many of the harbour seal populations in the Northern Isles and on the north and east coasts of Scotland have been declining," said SMRU's deputy director Dr Bernie McConnell.

"Marine data collected during this project on Orkney will help to assess the causes, management and mitigation options in relation to the harbour seals' decline and to prioritise future research directions."

Vodafone UK's corporate and external affairs director, Helen Lamprell, added: "The first mobile call was made on our network more than thirty years ago. We will now be the first company to help transmit valuable information from seals.

"This project is proof that collaborations between government, science and the private sector can work to improve better informed policy decisions on the environment. We are delighted to be able to provide Bernie and his team with access to our technology and consultancy."

Vodafone are not alone in connecting wildlife. Microsoft has also been exploring ways to use IoT to monitor and conserve wildlife.

There is also a great deal of pet tracking tags and IoT-related pet devices in the works.

Image: Flickr-CC/Jez Torrance

Transport ministers have been in "active discussions" with Google to encourage the company to trial its driverless cars in London.

Google is one of the firms leading the way in autonomous vehicle technology, but so far it has only trialled its driverless cars in the US.

Convincing the company to trial its cars in the UK would be a coup for the Department for Transport (DfT), which has spoken to Google "at least half a dozen times" in the last three years, according to a report by Sky News.

"It's going to have to work in big cities so why don't we start trialling it now?" deputy mayor for transport Isabel Dedring told Sky News.

"We met them a few weeks ago to see whether they would do trials here.It is still very early days but we would be keen for trials to happen in London whenever Google are ready to move them into other countries."

Google's driverless cars use sensors and cameras to "observe" their surroundings, and machine learning to perform the manoeuvres required to get them from A to B.

The company has retrofitted existing cars with its autonomous technology, such as Lexus SUVs, and is also experimenting with custom-made cars of its own.

It recently said it willexpand its trials to the state of Washington, in addition to trials that are already underway in Mountain View, California and Austin, Texas.

The DfT's interest in Google's self-driving car project comes after the UK government awarded 20 million in funding to eight new autonomous car projects.

The government said it wants the UK to become a "global centre for the fast-growing intelligent mobility market", which it estimated will be worth 900 billion a year globally by 2025.

Jaguar Land Rover is involved in the MOVE-UK project, which aims to accelerate the development, market readiness and deployment of automated driving systems.

Driverless cars are being trialled in four areas of the UK this year: Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes, and Greenwich. Converted Heathrow shuttles are to be among the first to be trialled in Greenwich this July.

Evangelists for autonomous cars in the UK have also been keen to highlight what the significant of these new projects could means for the British engineering and technology industries.

Commenting on the government's 20 million investment in automonous cars, business secretary Sajid Javid said: "Britain is a world-leader in research and development in such innovative technologies which improve lives and create opportunity for all. That is why this government has protected the 6 billion science budget and is providing up to 20 million for these projects."

Transport for London (TfL) is trialling real-time travel information tools at a Regent Street bus stop to make it easier for commuters and tourists to navigate the city streets.

The bus stop will be kitted out with an interactive panel displaying real-time information about bus departure times, London Underground network updates and the availability of nearby "Boris Bikes".

Furthermore, the panel will also be able to provide tourists with information about walking routes to local area attractions.

The technology was developed by advertising company Clear Channel UK who plan to analyse the way people interact with the service to improve the quality of information it shares over time.

TfL has confirmed that if the trial is a success, the technology could be rolled out to a number of other key travel hotspots across the capital.

The project is being embarked on as part of TfL's Year of The Bus campaign, which aims to celebrate the role the London bus network has to play in keeping the city moving.

Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said Regent Street was chosen as the trial site because it's a popular destination for commuters and tourists.

"This is another reminder of how technology has transformed how we communicate with our customers and how they want to receive information from us," he said.

"Our customers now rightly regard real time travel information as part of the core service we provide and this is an innovative way we can explore getting information they need to them," Daniels added.

Dave Huckerby, adshel development director at Clear Channel UK, said the project provides a glimpse at what the future of transport technology could look like.

"We're grateful to TfL for working closely with us. Their knowledge and expertise has allowed us to deliver something of real value to Londoners. The next stage of this trial is to monitor and refine the system as people interact with it," he added.

The European Parliament has given the strongest indication yet that its want mobile manufacturers to include a universal charging port in devices after amending a directive.

The Universal Charging Solution (UCS) started in 2009 as a memorandum of understanding between the European Commission and 14 mobile phone companies which sealed a commitment to common standards for smartphones.

But now, MEPs have made an amendment to the radio equipment directive that will require all equipment to comply with the UCS. UCS is embodied in the International Telecommunication Union's Recommendation ITU-T L.1000. This recommendation has already been widely adopted by many device manufacturers and supported by service providers around the world.

The move should reduce the number of chargers that land up in rubbish tips and should also cut costs for manufacturers as they will no longer need to put a charger in with every device they sell.

Studies have shown that consumers are warming to the concept of a universal charger and, in a recent market trial, UK operator O2 found that, given a choice, 82 per cent of customers purchased a phone without a charger. The resulting savings in e-waste are potentially enormous, with some estimating that consumers around the world throw away 82,000 tons of redundant chargers each year.

"With ITU's UCS we have a common-sense remedy to the very challenging problem of e-waste that can be applied to the widest possible range of mobile devices," said Dr Hamadoun Tour, secretary general of the ITU.

"I urge the European Parliament to include specific reference to ITU's globally agreed standard in the future directive. This will allow manufacturers to profit from lowering unit costs of production through economies of scale while also limiting device duplication, reducing the strain on raw materials and enabling significant reductions in e-waste."

The ITU has also published a universal charging solution for ICT devices such as modems, set-top boxes, home networking equipment and fixed telephones.

Recommendation ITU-T L.1001 "External universal power adapter solutions for stationary ICT devices" should "further reduce the number of chargers manufactured by widening the range of compatible devices, facilitating adapter reuse and recycling, and increasing build-quality and resilience to over-voltages," according to an ITU statement.

Google is said to be considering a bid for social navigation firm Waze. Any attempt at a deal could bring the search giant into a bidding war with Facebook, which is said to be in advanced talks with the Israeli company.

Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg reporters that a deal was possible. Waze is thought to be courting a number of different companies and is said to be putting a price tag on itself of $1 billion (662 million).

Waze spokesperson Julie Mossler said the firm does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Waze may also stay in private hands instead by raising another round of venture capital. In 2011, Waze managed to successfully raise $30 million (19.86 million) in a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Horizons Ventures Hong Kong. Microsoft is also said to be an investor, as is Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Venture Capital and BlueRun Ventures.

The firm provides mapping and navigation apps on mobile devices that use information from other users to improve driving directions. The service currently boasts around 40 million users and was set up in 2007.

Facebook was thought to be lining up a possible purchase of the firm. It could integrate its social network into the navigation service it much the same way it does through its partnership with music streaming service Spotify. It has been suggested that the leak of the original interest by Facebook in the company was done to provoke interest from other firms in Waze, such as Google, and start a bidding war.

However, Google could integrate the tool into its own mapping software and take out what could be perceived as a competitive threat. According to sources, Apple is not taking part in any discussions over the firm, despite false rumours in January that it too was interested in buying to company in a bid to boost its unloved mapping efforts.

An Australian police force has warned motorists not to use Apple Maps, claiming the software has led to a number of people becoming stranded in one of the country's national parks.

An alert sent out by police in the state of Victoria claims motorists are regularly being misdirected by the software, which Apple has been offering up to users as an alternative to Google Maps since the launch of iOS 6 in September.

This has resulted in motorists becoming stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park, the police claims, where water supplies are scarce and daily temperatures often peak at 46 degrees.

Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water.

"Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception," said the statement.

According to tests carried out on the software by the police, the problem is that Apple Maps lists the Victorian city of Mildura as being in the middle of the national park, when it is approximately 70km away.

"Police have contacted Apple in relation to the issue and hope the matter is rectified promptly to ensure the safety of motorists travelling to Mildura," said the police statement.

"Anyone travelling to Mildura or other locations within Victoria should rely on other forms of mapping until this matter is rectified," it also advised.

Since its launch, Apple Maps has come in for a fair amount of criticism from users who have poured scorn on the software's problems locating major landmarks.

As a result, Apple CEO Tim Cook was [a href="https://www.itpro.com/643198" target="blank"]forced to apologise for the poor quality of the service within days of its release.

It's that time of year again... The mobile industry has descended on Barcelona for Mobile World Congress (MWC). Check this page to keep up to speed with the latest announcements.

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The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has bared its teeth this week, charging the Salamander Organisation for using unlicensed software.

The York-based company has agreed to pay 29,000 to cover a settlement of licence fees to date, as well as ensuring it had paid for the software going forward. The type of software used has not been disclosed.

Salamander was caught out after an anonymous tip off to the BSA, followed by a software audit on the firm.

The BSA is currently shining a spotlight on Yorkshire to seek out those avoiding paying licences, claiming it does "substantial" damage to the UK economy.

Michala Wardell, chair of the BSA UK Committee, claimed the cost to businesses using unlicensed software was in excess of 2 million in fees and legal settlements last year double the amount from 2009.

"Businesses must be aware that enforcement action will be taken against any company found using unlicensed software," she said. "The abuse of intellectual property rights is a serious offence, and will not be accepted."

"Settlements such as this can seriously damage a company's reputation if they are caught out and can be costly."

A recent study by the Alliance claimed reducing the current piracy rate of 27 per cent down by 10 per cent over four years could create 5.4 billion in "new economic activity" and 1.5 billion in new taxes.

"Unlicensed software often occurs when a company's management regards software licensing as an IT problem, rather than treating their software as a business asset," said Julian Swan, director of compliance marketing in EMEA for BSA.

"It is crucial for companies to implement software asset management best practices and take advantage of the tools available from software vendors to ensure that their software licensing is in order."

ARM has flexed its muscles in the acquisition market by picking up Obsidian Software.

The Cambridge, UK-based processor firm has snapped up the Austin, Texas company for an undisclosed sum to push forward with developing higher performance chips.

Obsidian has been offering processor testing and verification products since 1997 when it was founded by three former members of AMD. It has since made its name with its RAVEN (Random Architecture Verification Engine) software and been used as the verification tool for a number of mobile devices.

ARM has been working with Obsidian since using its software to develop the Cortex A8 chip, used in smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S.

"Obsidian Software has a long history of building advanced verification tools for the ARM architecture and enabling ARM partners" said Eric Hennenhoefer, president of Obsidian Software.

"The ARM ecosystem will be extended by the addition of Obsidian Software's verification solutions, which will accelerate the success of the ARM architecture in the marketplace."

Obsidian's verification team will be swallowed up into ARM's counterpart division, but they will remain based in Texas rather than Cambridge.

Mike Inglis, general manager and executive vice president of the processor division at ARM, concluded: "The technology and people that will come with this acquisition are a significant addition to our capabilities in maximising quality and reducing time to market of ARM-processor-based SoCs (System on Chip)."

Ofcom is changing the way mobile operators can charge for handling calls from other networks a move set to slash costs by up to 80 per cent over the next four years.

By reducing so-called mobile termination rates, consumers will benefit from reduced costs and greater market choice, according to the regulator.

The big four UK networks will have a cap imposed on their termination rates from 1 April. Rates will be set on a "fair and reasonable basis" for the other companies providing a mobile comms service to UK users.

At present, the likes of 3, Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone charge just over four pence per minute in mobile wholesale termination fees. The plan is to reduce this on a gradual basis to just over two pence from 1 April, until it reaches 0.690 pence in 2015.

"This will allow fixed-line operators such as BT to bundle minutes to mobiles within their call packages, which up until now has been prohibitive given the cost," said Ovum analyst Matthew Howett.

"Those that will feel the most pain will be the mobile network operators. These charges account for a significant proportion of their revenues (as much as 15 per cent), and they may look to raise subscription charges to offset this."

Ofcom disagreed. It believed mobile traffic would increasingly be less of a focus for operators as users continued to feed their appetite for data.

In the last year, data traffic grew by 104 per cent, according to Ofcom. Between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the same period in 2009, data revenue also increased by 90 per cent.

"The regime after 2015 has yet to be determined, but having the cost of terminating a call in the mobile network at a level similar to the fixed network will enable operators to choose from a range of alternative charging mechanisms - such as bill and keep, where call termination is priced at zero," added Howett.

"Capacity-based interconnect could be another option, which becomes a lot more relevant in a world where data is king and the minute is no longer a relevant cost driver."

O2 plans to introduce a so-called mobile wallet, using near field communications (NFC) to make payments.

The communications operator is planning to apply for an e-money licence from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) so it can start offering the NFC technology.

It is believed O2 will bring out its mobile wallet app in the second half of 2011.

An O2 spokesperson said the company would give full details nearer the time, but revealed it planned to offer a range of services as part of this, including mobile payments, person-to-person money transfer and airtime top ups.

They said O2 will be making a number of moves to prepare for the launch.

"Firstly we are recruiting a number of financial services experts to the O2 Money team," the spokesperson said.

"Secondly we will be partnering with specialised payments and processing partners. And thirdly we will be submitting an application for an e-money license which will allow us to hold funds on our customers' behalves and facilitate payments."

The news comes shortly after Everything Everywhere the Orange and T-Mobile partnership announced its own NFC-enabled SIM cards in a deal with Barclaycard.

The Google Nexus S features an integrated NFC chip, making it one of the only smartphones to feature such technology.

Apple's next iPhone is widely expected to feature NFC technology as well.

The Skobbler free navigation app is now available for iPhone users in the UK and Ireland.

Using data from the OpenStreetMap Project (OSM), Skobbler provides voice-assisted turn-by-turn directions for drivers and pedestrians, with users having the choice between a top-down two-dimensional map or a bird's eye view.

The app, which is available now on iTunes, works on second-generation iPhones onwards, and being built on free mapping underpinnings, allows users to edit navigation maps and add their own places of interest.

"Skobbler is the first truly usable voice-guided sat nav solution to use free map data that can be edited," says Skobbler founder Marcus Thielking. "All those who have edited the map have experienced a real sense of achievement. Everybody can make sure that their respective neighbourhood has the best map coverage."

Skobbler, which is based in Germany, already has some 250,000 users creating and updating maps outside of the UK, with the company encouraging users to make corrections to ensure "outdated and poorly detailed maps are a thing of the past".

While the user-generated nature of the maps means there is always the risk of error, Thielking believes that the combination of community editing and free dynamic updates will ensure Skobbler is "a genuine alternative to costly and slow updating sat navs".

The ad-supported lite version of Skobbler can be downloaded free of charge from iTunes; alternatively, for 1.19 you can get the same thing but without the adverts.

Google Maps has been the failsafe guidance software for practically everybody since smartphones became a mainstream phenomenon.

It's both fast, simple and effective at getting you from A to B and is an absolute godsend when you're lost on the way to a meeting in an unfamiliar city. However, Google a company that's never afraid of pushing the boundaries has just raised its game with the release of Google Maps Navigation onto the Android Market. It offers free voice-guided satellite navigation to anyone lucky enough to have an Android handset with version 1.6 or above of the operating system.

Over the last 12 months Android has been an unstoppable force in the global handset market and, fortunately for Google, this means that practically everybody is fully accustomed to Google Maps as it comes as standard on all Android devices.

If you're lucky enough to have a handset powered by Android 1.6 or above, the jump to Google Maps Navigation isn't a big deal. In fact, it's simple. And this is what makes Google Maps Navigation so brilliant that, and the fact that it is 100 per cent free, of course.

One of the main assets of Google Maps Navigation is that you can view the map in three modes: Normal, Satellite and Street View. Granted, you may prefer to use one, say, Normal mode, because it's quicker and doesn't require as much loading time, but it is always nice to have the choice and in Google Maps Navigation, you're pretty much spoilt.

When software like Google Maps Navigation is given away for free it causes a bit of a stir in the technology world mainly because Google is offering a service that many other companies demand in excess of a 100 a year for. So what you're getting with this little package is actually quite incredible, even if it does potentially knock some of the other navigation players out of the game.

One of our favourite features during testing was that Google Maps Navigation supports voice searching and it actually works. For example, when we were out testing it in north London we simply said, "Navigate to local restaurants," and straight away, we got a list of all the restaurants in our immediate vicinity. From here, you can either use Google Maps Navigation as you would Google Maps a reference tool for when you're on foot or, and this is where it really comes into its own, select Get Driving Directions and really see what it can do.

Once you select Get Driving Directions you are presented with a choice: Navigate? And if you select Navigate, that's when things get impressive. The view switches to 3D satellite navigation, the route is laid out in front of you and you're taken turn-by-turn to your desired location.

Because Google Maps Navigation is essentially a free sat nav on your phone it could prove invaluable, both in your professional and personal life. For instance, if you have a meeting in a city you've never been to before you can load it up, type or tell it the address or postcode and you'll be guided by the sensual robotic tones of the built-in navigator voice to that exact spot.

That said, like a lot of sat nav devices, Google Maps Navigation, isn't perfect and, on more than one occasion, it took us round the long way when we knew a far quicker route. However, in the grand scheme of things, if you don't know where you ae, or are completely lost, an extra five minutes here and there is a small price to pay for being on time especially, if your meeting is work related.

Another useful business application of Google Maps Navigation is that you can search for businesses within it. Again, this is an invaluable tool to have if you're attending a meeting in an unfamiliar city especially one as confusing and big as London.

Unfortunately, using Google Maps Navigation abroad is a bit of a no-go as it pulls information directly from the cloud and will, therefore, cost you a small fortune in roaming charges. But again, this is only a small niggle in an otherwise brilliant mobile application.

Another worry we had prior to testing was concerned with whether or not the voice-guided navigation would give us enough time before it demanded us to, "take a right." Fortunately, it does. In fact, we were extremely impressed with just how good it actually was during testing and it never caught us off guard by telling us to take a corner we had already passed something that cannot be said for a lot of other sat navs on the market.

Google Maps Navigation also automatically zooms in and out depending on what type of road you're on. So, say you're on the motorway, it'll zoom right out so you always have a clear view of where you're heading and when you're going slower it moves back in. Also worth noting is the fluidity with which it does this there's no lag or jerking motion whatsoever.

Traffic, especially when you are running late for a meeting, is always a nuisance. However, Google Maps Navigation can really help you avoid getting stuck in gridlocked traffic and missing that all-important meeting. It achieves this by displaying the level of traffic on your route. This is done in three colours: Red, Green and Yellow all of which represent varying degrees of traffic, so you can attempt to slink around pesky inner-city jams.

As we said, there are so many useful and, practically, priceless aspects to this application that it is almost impossible to cover them all. However, there are a few that stand out. For example, you can save locations to one of your device's home screens for quick and easy access we tested ours on a HTC Desire and loaded up an entire home screen with saved locations, which was brilliant for one touch access.

Overall, this is an invaluable application and if you have an Android smartphone with an OS 1.6 or higher make sure you get Google Maps Navigation. It'll be one of the best applications you download all year it's free, it works and it is extremely easy to use. Plus, you'll never get lost in an unfamiliar city again, which means you'll always be on time for important meetings and dates.

Verdict

Google Maps Navigation is an invaluable piece of kit and should be every Android users first port of call before even contemplating the purchase of a dedicated sat-nav device.

The voice search is brilliant as is the voice-guided navigation, provided you don’t mind robotic voices. It also has enough built in features, such as congestion monitoring, single word location search and a multitude of views, such as satellite and Street View, which make Google Maps Navigation a serious force to be reckoned with.

All in all, if you have an Android 1.6 or above device you need this application. It is invaluable, efficient and, best of all, free.

Google satnav loses its way after upgrade

The latest upgrade to Google's satnav seems to have caused a few problems for users. PC Pro

Ireland takes on pirates

Irish ISP Eircom is set to trial a three strikes rule to turn off the internet connections of those illegally sharing files. Irish Examiner

Survey: Slow broadband a top issue for UK

New research from O2 shows slow broadband is as much a big issue for Britons as antisocial behaviour and potholes. Press Association

The Cloud draws up Wi-Fi plan to cover London by 2012

The Cloud is one of a few firms in the running to help London Mayor Boris Johnson cover the capital in wireless in time for the Olympics in 2012. IT PRO

Google's free sat-nav comes to the UK

Google this morning revealed it would bring its free Google Maps based navigation to UK mobiles. PC Pro

Brain training games don't make you smarter

A study of over 11,000 people has found that "brain training" games don't actually improve memory, reasoning or other intellectual skills. BBC

Windows Phone 7 details leaked

More details of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 have leaked, suggesting users will need to use Windows Live to log in and all handsets must run ARM7 processors. Know Your Mobile

Apple still unimpressed by netbooks

Apple's chief operating officer Tim Cook has said he "can't think of a single thing a netbook does well," suggesting the firm will use the iPad to target the successful netbook market. IT Pro

Next gen BlackBerry OS details revealed

Details of the BlackBerry 6.0 operating system have leaked, and it looks like RIM is going for multi-touch. Boy Genius Report

Britain's space industry could be worth up to 40 billion a year, according to a report published by the Space Innovation and Growth Team (IGT), a committee tasked by the Government with laying out the future of the UK's commercial space ambitions.

Chief among the recommendations is more spending. The UK currently spends around 270 million on space projects such as satellite programs.

Andy Green, who chaired the IGT, told the BBC "We already have six per cent global market share, despite the fact we spend a relatively low proportion of our GDP on space."

Getting organised

UK Space is an organisation which represents an assortment of British high-tech companies. Its chairman, Richard Peckham is also business development manager of Astrium, a UK-based satellite company.

He told IT PRO that the future of the British space industry doesn't simply rely on asking for money. "You've got to have somebody that's actually looking across all of the potential uses of space," he said.

That somebody will be the as-yet unnamed British space agency, a dedicated organisation announced in December 2009. Responsibility currently lies with an assortment of different government departments a situation which leads to wrangling over funding.

"If there was a program that fits very neatly into just one department's budget, it works quite well," said Peckham. "As soon as you get a program that kind of cuts across lots of departments, they then can't agree who should fund it."

The need to co-ordinate departments with differing priorities and budgets leads to arguments, Peckham added.

"We were never pro-active, we were always just reacting," he said, citing the example of the Galileo program, a European initiative to create a GPS system distinct from the US military. "There are a lot of people who think it would be quite good when they've got it, but you couldn't find anybody stepping forward thinking that developing a new Sat nav system was anything to do with them."

He says the thinking was "why should we do it [when] you could just leave it to France and Germany?"

Investment, not just spending

Even the figure of 270 million the UK's current expenditure on space is simply spending, rather than investing for the future, according to Phil Davies, business development manager at Surrey Satellites Limited (SSTL).

"The Government spends 270 million on space-related activities," he told IT PRO. "That's not investing in the industry. It's buying something that UK organisations want to use."

To not invest in space, he says, is "missing a trick". More government investment would level the playing field against other countries. "We're competing against companies in Asia, also places like South Africa, also our European competitors, where their governments are funding new technology developments to help them improve their products. There's no similar program in the UK for funding space technology."

Solid growth

Nevertheless, the British space industry is in remarkably rude health. Lord Drayson, minister for science and innovation, claimed in December that the space sector "hasn't missed a beat" during the recession. In the decade from 1998 the industry saw nine per cent growth per year, contributed 5.6 billion to UK GDP in 2007, and supported nearly 70,000 jobs.

Phil Davies of SSTL admits that "We would have had much faster growth had there not been a recession," but says the company hasn't resorted to lay-offs. Richard Peckham of Astrium says his company's staff has grown by several hundred in the last year.

The aims of the Space IGT - which can be downloaded here - are loftier still. If the British space industry grows its worth to 40 billion a year, it will hold 10 per cent of the worldwide space market and create 10,000 jobs.

However, Peckham says the future of the British space industry depends on the success of the incoming space agency. Current government attitude to space "lacks focus," he said.

"The British Government as a whole hasn't really ever developed a coherent space policy that really looks across all the government's needs."

The development of a national space policy and ensuring the British space agency is "sufficiently resourced and empowered" are items one and two in the IGT's report, but the exact timing and funding of the agency are deeply unclear. With the announcement only a month and a half old it's unsurprising that plans are nascent at best, but the probability of a new government in the coming months could prove complicated.

Cuts coming?

In an interview with the Evening Standard, Conservative science minister Adam Afriyie admitted that major cuts to government spending on science were "inevitable", a worrying turn of phrase considering the IGT report calls for twice the UK's current expenditure on space projects.

However, neither Labour nor the Conservatives are promising more cash for science, according to Space UK's Richard Peckham. He says the IGT report "is not primarily about asking for more money."

"In both parties there is recognition that if you don't generate wealth there can't be any discussions about how you're going to spend the money," he noted. "I think both parties recognise that we need a more balanced economy."

Phil Davies of SSTL echoes the sentiment. "There's been a tendency in the last 10 or 15 years to think financial services is all we need to be doing in this country." The rocky economy of the last two years underlines the importance of a vibrant industrial industry, he argues.

In 2007, the British space industry captured around six per cent of the world market an impressive statistic for an industry whose government funding falls well short of that of other western European countries, according to the experts IT PRO spoke to.

But the IGT report claims that without a "positive decision to go for growth", the industry will not only stagnate, its share of the global market could halve.

Richard Peckham says the development of a coherent space strategy is "really fundamental to the UK upping its game. If it doesn't happen, we're not going to fizzle out and die overnight, but we can't see the room for growth."

For those that haven't seen the news, what's happened or about to happen?

The primary message is that Nokia is making navigation free. Consumers can download maps to their phones that gives them free global sat nav for either driving or walking. It includes, in the UK, Lonely Planet, Michelin and Facebook.

It will be included in 10 devices at launch and we'll be rolling it out to a whole series of devices in the coming weeks. We're going to support a whole host of handsets coming off the production line, which is a massive logistics and operational challenge so to launch with 10 is a great result anyway and we want to continue that the N97 will be coming on 28 January.

Free is always good, but what's the catch?

The point is we want to drive scale in the number of people using mobile navigation, be it for walking or driving.

We are obviously the number one handset manufacturer globally so we can bring that scale to fruition through this sort of activity. Rather than making money out of a small number, [we'll be] making a small amount of money from a larger number, so we're flipping the economics.

There's also a huge monetisation opportunity for developers as well as advertising and a variety of mediums. At the moment, the principle focus is on driving scale. We're democratising sat nav for people so we can reach a much bigger audience.

So why is the time right for this now?

We've been doing navigation on phones for about two years now and we've certainly seen good growth from this in a paid-for situation. However, I think now we can really accelerate that growth and reduce that barrier.

Once you remove the barriers of cost in any service, you automatically open it up to a wider audience. In addition, the fact that on a sub 100 pre-pay device you can get unlimited global navigation as well as an app store and paid-for content from the Ovi store means you've suddenly got a massively feature-rich phone at a price point that opens things up to a whole new group of adopters.

Do you see this being attractive to business users and consumers alike?

Absolutely. Business people can use it in a professional sense as a mechanism to keen costs down, which is fantastic. The other opportunity I see is with apps. At Nokia World we announced a set of toolkits and APIs that will enable businesses and or developers to create a whole host of very specialised, or open, directed apps.

So businesses can start to look at the whole mapping piece as part of their business process and get a realisation of what it can mean to so many different vertical sectors. A haulage company, for example, could very easily develop an app to help haulage drivers and truck drivers.

So this is as much a boon for the developer community as it is for end users?

We had a develop event towards the end of last year concentrating our efforts in the UK on becoming much more visible and answerable to the developer community.

We re-announced the APIs and talked through them. There's certainly a massive opportunity for developers to take applications and apply a level of mapping navigation or what have you in ways that were previously not appealing because of the barriers to entry.

So this is a big deal for Nokia then?

We've already started a communications campaign. There's an advert at the back of the Metro newspaper and you'll see loads more activity.

We're also working closely with the operator community to get the message across to their channels and talking to Nokia customers directly to make sure they're aware.

It's great. It's not often that such disruptive things take place.

Prices for petrol and diesel are sky high these days, costing both individuals and businesses a fortune in transport costs. But, beyond switching your entire fleet of sales vehicles from gas guzzlers to green machinery, what can you do to save money?

Driving more efficiently is just as important a factor, and according to the AA could save you up to 30 per cent of your fuel bill; it's this fact that Vexia hopes to exploit with its new Satnav device, the Econav 380 UK/Ireland.

The aptly named Econav aims to help you save fuel by not only saving you from getting lost, but also by helping you drive more economically. Using a database of around 70,000 car models, in details of gear change ratios and optimum speeds are stored, the Econav tells you when to change gear, what speed you need to be driving at in that gear to save money, and when you're accelerating or decelerating too heavily. It even tells you how far you need to be behind the vehicle in front so you don't have to brake violently in an emergency.

Put the Eexia in econav mode, and the entire screen is devoted to this task. A large panel displaying the optimum gear for your current speed takes up most of the screen, with a smaller area displaying current driving efficiency, stopping distance and whether or not you're travelling at a fuel-efficient speed. It's all accompanied by clear voice instructions and does its job well enough, replacing the gear display with a large speed camera alerts when necessary.

It's a sound enough propostion that's based on solid principals, but there are problems. The first is that you can't combine this econav mode with navigation. Punch a destination into the Vexia, then try to switch to the econav screen, and you're asked if you want to cancel your route. Say no and the Econav dumps you unceremoniously in the map view screen that's highly frustrating.

The second issue is that, if you drive reasonably efficiently anyway, you'll save little extra on your fuel - if any at all; it's no silver bullet. In back-to-back comparisons with a standard TomTom Satnav, over three different types of journey, we found following the econav to yield worse MPG results than driving normally. A slight lag seemed to afflict gear change instructions, which resulted in us over-revving in second gear.

That's not to say it won't work for you. Our natural driving style tends towards the fuel efficient anyway, but even if you happen the world's most aggressive driver, once you've learned when and where to change gear, which speed to be in, and to accelerate and brake more gently, you won't need the advice of this Satnav any more.

So much for saving the planet; how does the Econav fare when it comes to navigation? Alas, it's the same mixed bag. There are some things that really work well: the maps are clear, uncluttered and easy to view. The routes it chooses seem sensible enough. And there are some really nice touches too. The voice instructions go beyond the dry "bear right", "turn left" and take in British idioms such as "at the next roundabout, do a left". Plus, instead of merely telling you which road you're travelling on and which to take next, a label that pops up in the bottom right actually tells where you are.

Drive north up the M1 then the M6, and as you pass Milton Keynes and Birmingham, a popup appears informing you of this fact; it's more useful than you might think, and something no other Satnav we've ever seen does.

Finally, the screen, sound and general performance simply aren't up to scratch. We found the coating on the screen produced a terrible amount of glare. Add too much much sun to the mix and it's difficult to see. The volume of the speaker, even when set to maximum, isn't loud enough to overcome road noise and wind roar in noisy cabins. And the Vexia also has trouble picking up satellites quickly from cold, taking minutes at the start of each journey booting and establishing a signal lock.

A final irritation concerns the next small next turning icons, which appear in a bar at the bottom of the screen - they've clearly not been Anglicised, with roundabout icons pointing the wrong way around junctions.

So, even if the Econav 380's fuel saving features worked flawlessly and worked for everyone, the weakness of the rest of the package mean you'd have to be a seriously inefficient driver to justify splashing out. And with the UK and Ireland version costing 150 and the European model 180, it's more than a little overpriced too.

Verdict

An interesting concept, but in practice you're better off learning how to drive more efficiently and buying a better Satnav.

3.5in, 320 x 240 resolution screen 500MHz CPU Micro-SD card reader Suction windscreen mount and car power lead 97 x 73 x 13mm (WHD) 112g

When the iPhone 3GS was released, one of the few hardware features that gave it an edge over the standard 3G was its built-in physical compass. This gave it the potential to be used for turn-by-turn navigation, a feature that iPhone users had long been waiting for. Eventually, at Apple's WWDC in June 2009, GPS leader TomTom demoed its software running on the iPhone and by mid-August you could actually buy the app itself from the App store.

Even better, TomTom said that it would be releasing a custom car kit designed for the iPhone, making what would surely be the ultimate navigation solution on the market. Oddly there was some confusion over the release of the TomTom car kit, which appeared on the Apple online store in September but was soon pulled. However, it was finally made available in October.

The TomTom app does not come bundled with the car kit though, and has to be purchased separately from the App Store. The price of 59.99 inc. VAT for the UK and Ireland maps raised eyebrows, especially as CoPilot Live is available for just 26.99.

If you want maps for all of Europe it costs 79.99, while other individual regions will cost an extra 34.99 to 52.99, depending on the area, so those costs can soon really mount up. And if you want to mount-up' your iPhone using the long awaited car-kit, that will cost you an extra 99.95 inc VAT.

Therefore if you're considering the TomTom car kit and the UK maps you're looking at just under 160 which comes in over the price of a dedicated TomTom unit such as the TomTom One, which Amazon UK will send you for just 113.94. The iPhone TomTom combination then really has to justify itself to be worth the extra cost. But does it?

The official car kit offers several benefits, such as an integrated GPS module based on a SirfStar III chipset - the same chip you'll find in most standalone satnav devices. When connected, this supplants the one in the iPhone and should deliver a much stronger signal.

The holder also boasts an integrated speaker to give clearer instructions than from the iPhone speaker, and also enables you to keep your iPhone charged. It also rotates so you can view the screen directions in either portrait or landscape mode and the software uses the iPhone's accelerometer to switch instantly, which works very nicely.

The actual car kit arrives in a smart but rather flimsy plastic box. The design feels slight but once we set it up we found it to be probably the best TomTom device holder we've used. And we've tried quite a few.

The holder can be angled to attach to the windscreen, and a circular dial enables it to be easily tightened with just a couple of turns. It attached first time in our test vehicle and, thankfully, didn't drop our our iPhone to the floor, which happens with some holders.

The iPhone is gripped neatly with a dock connector at the bottom and you push back on a lip at the top to extract it. It's a tight fit though so if you've got a case on your iPhone you'll need to remove it, which might be inconvenient. We were using a Proporta Crystal Case, and admittedly through laziness we did manage to squeeze the phone in, but we wouldn't recommend doing this long term.

At the side of the cradle is a mini USB connector and this has to be plugged in for the cradle to operate. There's also an auxiliary audio out for connecting to your car speakers should your car stereo have a 3.5mm jack. However, while your iPhone music will be sent to the car speakers, the audio directions from the app will only come out of the speaker in the car kit itself. There's a volume control on the left side for the 2-watt speaker and the directions came out loud and clear with a range of voices and languages to choose from.

What's quite odd is that the apps turn-by-turn audio instructions are not sent via the physical dock connector but instead need to be sent via Bluetooth. Therefore despite there being a physical connection you're prompted to turn on Bluetooth the first time you plug in. You then have to go through a simple pairing routine. It worked first time for us.

Navigation is very easy indeed. The default screen shows a 3D view of your location and you simply tap the screen anywhere to bring up the menu from where you can select the navigate menu to route straight to your Home location, to a saved favourite, a recent destination, or to a post code. You can plan in advance so you don't need an active GPS signal for work out a route in advance, and as the entire maps are located on your iPhone, you don't need a data signal to start with. Despite the large data set the app starts up relatively quickly on an iPhone 3GS in less than 10 seconds.

In use, we found the routing to be effective. The app also takes advantage of TomTom's IQ routes, which draw data from thousands of user journeys and as such you'll get the most effective route for the time of day. The apps also warned us of approaching speed cameras with a chime.

When an incoming call is received, the map disappears to be replaced with the phone screen, but audio instructions still continue from the speaker. When the call ends, the map auto resumes.

We read many complaints of the position indicator on the TomTom app lagging behind the actual location, but we didn't experience this in our tests. Recent updates to the app may have helped in this regard, and the SirfStar III chip in the car kit appears to be doing its job.

While we found ourselves perfectly happy with the usability and performance of the TomTom app, we were frankly surprised at the lack of features compared to standalone devices. With the x40 Live series in 2008, TomTom added the Google Local Search feature that enabled you to find where you wanted to go via a Google search, and then route to it. It seems like a no-brainer to include it in a data device such as the iPhone, but surprisingly it's not present. As such, you're limited to using the included Points of Interest database, which while comprehensive is clunkier than a simple Google search.

While IQ routes are used, the iPhone app also lacks features such as the Live Taffic info so it can't warn you in advance of major holdups on your planned route. We also missed things such as local fuel price lookups. There's also no Map Share feature either, which enables users to upload details of recent changes such as new speed cameras or roadblocks.

TomTom has announced that some features such as Advanced Lane Guidance and Text-to-Speech and full iPod control are going to be added via an update, so it does raise hopes that TomTom could add other missing features should it so wish.

As it stands however, while it works effectively as far as it goes the TomTom iPhone and car kit combination feels incomplete, and as such, overpriced.

What's more Google has recently announced that it will be bringing real-time turn-by-turn instructions with Google Maps Navigation. Initially this is only coming to Android phones, but that itself could sway people away from the iPhone. If it comes to the iPhone too, then TomTom could find that Google has killed its market stone dead. As such, TomTom needs to make the most of its windows of opportunity and make its app as good as possible, as quickly as possible.

The app and car kit work very well indeed but we can't help but feel that it could be even better, especially at the price.

Verdict

The combination of the slickest smartphone on the market and the best known navigation software works as impressively as one would imagine and the car kit hardware is good. However, the total cost is simply too great, considering that the software lacks features compared to TomTom's stand alone units. As such, going the stand alone PD route is still the route we'd take.

Carkit: GPS: SirfStar III Audio out: 3.5mm Volume control: yes Dimensions: 131.43 x 68.68 x 49.86 mm Weight: 117g

This week has been a busy one and there have been many stories with a Halloween-related theme.

Halloween malware

There is actually something real to be scared of in IT, and that is the threat of malware. It is always a problem but becomes more serious as seasonal events approach and scammers try and target users who might let their guard down for a Halloween message or e-card.

We saw early this week the damage that cyber criminals can cause, with the Guardian jobs website hacked and half a million accounts affected. This could become a real problem, as much of the information that you put on your CV could be gold to thieves looking to steal identities or perform social engineering attacks.

Facebook remembers the dead

Maybe Facebook was thinking of Halloween when it thought up this rather creepy feature in which the profiles of lost friends and loved ones can be memorialised' after the time of the person's death.

Google terrifies the sat nav companies

From something traditionally creepy to something that will terrify sat nav companies like TomTom and Garmin. Google has put navigation technology into new versions of its smartphone software to provide driving directions on mobile devices.

This could be a real problem for companies that sell specific hardware devices, as it won't be easy to see why an individual would shell out a substantial amount of money when they can get the tech on their phone for free. The sat nav companies may have a good reason to be fearful.

Dementia patients are getting some high-tech help in Warwickshire, as the council is offering a GPS system to help carers keep track of them.

The trial which the council has said is the first in the country lets carers monitor patients movements. A "mini-tracker" device is hooked up to the person's clothing by careworkers each day. The GPS signal can be monitored online, giving "peace of mind" to sufferers families, the council said.

One of the first families to sign up for the trial were trying to find a way to deal with their 71-year-old father's tendency to wander off, leaving family or the police to track him down.

The son, named only as Pete, said: "Five months ago we were in a position where we felt that we could no longer cope. Dad always loved to take the dog for long walks but he started getting lost in other parts of town. It's a particular trait for people with dementia to keep moving; it's as if they are walking away from the problem."

Pete said: "I felt really torn and thought the only way forward would be to give up my job or to consider a residential home for dad."

While many would balk at wearing tracking tech, Pete explained: "We talked to Dad about the GPS and he is happy to be wearing it because he feels that he is being looked after even if we are not there. It means he can go for walks or stay at home without being wrapped up in cotton wool. It has been like a breath of fresh air for dad and it has given us better peace of mind."

The GPS tracking system is just one aspect of telecare which the council uses, alongside fall detectors and emergency helpline pendants.

TomTom's navigation software has found its way onto the iPhone thanks to a new app that's available as from today.

The application, which will provide familiar turn-by-turn navigation, IQ Routes, which take into account the experiences of real drivers to find the fastest way of getting from A to B, and customisation options, can be downloaded from Apple's App Store for a starting fee of 59.99 for the UK and Ireland version and 79.99 for one featuring a map of Western Europe. "With TomTom for iPhone, millions of iPhone users can now benefit from the same easy-to-use and intuitive interface, turn-by-turn spoken navigation and unique routing technology that our 30 million portable navigation device users rely on every day," said TomTom's managing director Corinne Vigreux, in a statement. "As the world's leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps, TomTom is the most natural fit for an advanced navigation application on the iPhone."

Most high-end business phones come with GPS and a navigation application pre-installed, but what are the top 10 out there? Does Blackberry Maps beat Nokia Maps? What are the advantages of using Google Maps over paid-for satellite navigation software such as TomTom?

With GPS appearing on more and more devices, it's important to find the right software to use it, especially if you travel a lot in your job and need to find your way to meetings frequently.

If you use a satellite navigation system currently, it could be time to scrap the bulk and invest in one of the software programs that include voice directions, otherwise, just stick to free software readily available preinstalled or to download on the internet.

We take a look at what's hot in the world of mobile navigation so you can find your way quickly to your next meeting.

Free software

If you're looking for a venue to meet up with a contact, you can simply enter a keyword, such as coffee' into the search engine and it'll come up with a list of coffee houses within 30KM of your current location, plus you can request step-by-step directions to get there and send the route to your contact so they can find out how to get there.

If you're meeting someone at their office, you can view where their office is, because the application syncs with your phonebook to display names and addresses of everyone in your phonebook on the map.

Once you've found your destination, you can bookmark these on the application too so you don't need to search for them again.

If you're walking to a meeting, there is an improved engine for Walk mode with shortest route option and maps detailed enough to show multiple entrances to underground stations.

Other useful additional options include access to real-time info such as traffic alerts, safety camera locations and city event guides that provide access to events and film listings in more than 450 cities.

Using the application, you can switch between 2D or 3D map, satellite view and now street view, making it easy as pair to find your destination.

To zoom into a part of the map, you simply have to pinch your fingers together, and to zoom out you just pinch outwards. You can then sweep your finger across the screen to move the map.

Like on BlackBerry Maps, you can search for Points of Interest using keywords. Simply search coffee' to find the nearest coffee shop.

To make it even easier to find your current location, a big red pin marks your current location so you'll never get lost again...

For touchscreen Windows Mobile devices such as the HTC Touch Diamond2, zoom controls are at the bottom. The + and logos are a little small and the stylus is put to good use here.

2D and 3D maps are still available and there's still one of the most impressive PoI ranges available on a mobile satellite navigation system.

Like on all free satellite navigation apps, you can't get voice directions, but Google Maps still provides a very in depth step-by-step text instructions and you can also view your route on the map itself which is handy for an overview.

Paid-for software

Firstly, TomTom Navigator 6 comes packaged with TomTom Home that allows you to manage, store and transfer all of your content and services to your mobile.

Like on Vodafone Find&Go, you can find other users of the software and transfer particular maps and locations to them, which is perfect if you're trying to plan a business meeting with colleagues or contacts.

Like on the standalone TomTom system, you are presented with an estimated arrival time, which can help plan your time better, and there are speeding alerts that will alert you if you break the speed limit.

All this comes on a microSD card to slot into your chosen Windows Mobile device for complete ease of use.

TomTom Navigator 6 costs 90 and includes maps of Western Europe.

These listings include Wi-Fi hotspots so you can find an internet connection on the move. This is especially useful if you need to send a large file over the internet while you're on the move between meetings.

You can currently download a 30-day free trial of Telenav for your Blackberry, after that it'll cost you from 20 for a three-month usage package.

The software comes preinstalled on a microSD card so you can swap between different Windows Mobile devices easily - providing there is a microSD card slot on the device.

One advantage to Co-Pilot's satellite navigation solution is that you can fully preview your route before heading off, so you can judge any traffic hotspots or problem areas such as toll roads.

Co-Pilot 7 supports 7-digit postcodes and includes fully updated London congestion zones so there won't be any surprises when you mistakenly venture into a charging zone.

It now comes pre-installed on most Vodafone devices with GPS, although it will cost you 5 a month if you decide to continue using it after the first month's free subscription.

The Vodafone Find&Go subscription includes voice turn-by-turn navigation, free camera safety alerts, plus the ability to share your Points of Interest with your colleagues who also use Vodafone Find&Go very handy if you're setting up a business meeting.

Top 10 satellite navigation devices:

Apple iPhone

Blackberry 9500 Storm

Blackberry 8900 Curve

HTC Touch Diamond2

HTC Touch Pro

Nokia E75

Nokia 6210 Navigator

Samsung i8510

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Sony Ericsson W715

Click here to read our picks for best mobile platforms for business.

Microsoft and satnav maker TomTom have settled the patent infringement cases the two companies had brought against each other.

The cases have been settled under a patent agreement where TomTom will pay Microsoft for coverage under the eight car navigation and file management systems in the first patent case.

Microsoft said it will also receive coverage under the four patents included in the TomTom countersuit. The agreement lasts for five years.

The agreement will include patent coverage for Microsoft's three file management systems patents compliant with TomTom's obligations under the General Licence Version 2 (GPLv2).

TomTom will remove from its products the functionality related to two file management systems, which enables efficient naming, organising, storing and accessing of file data.

TomTom will remove the functionality within two years, and the agreement will provide for coverage directly to TomTom's customers under these patents during that time.

Microsoft said it was pleased to that it had reached an amicable agreement, while TomTom said that the agreement reaffirmed its commitment to the open source community.

Asda is the first UK retailer to take advantage of new location-based advertising technology to communicate with its customers on the move.

The second biggest supermarket in the country has signed up to use the Direct Access programme from automotive, mobile, and internet-based navigation and mapping systems provider, Navteq.

The technology makes use of community generated data, sourced directly from the retailer, to provide points-of-interest (POI) information to users.

Its functionality has been designed to offer an efficient way for retailers like Asda to connect with its mobile customers and provide all its store locations including new and recently opened sites on a Navteq navigation system map.

"As an advertising platform, Direct Access is both effective and cost-efficient," commented Roy Clark, change programme manager at Asda. "It helps us increase our reach to millions of consumers, right at the moment they are ready to make a purchase."

Navteq said recent research it carried out into the market found over 80 per cent of people using navigation systems prefer to see brand logos on the map rather than generic icons. And 62 per cent of navigation system owners drive to the businesses that they look up on their navigation devices.

"We recognise the growing importance of including our locations in navigation systems and how this gives customers additional opportunity to find their local Asda," Clark added.

He also said the technology was a good way to maximise Asda visibility and make sure information on all of its locations are regularly updated and refreshed.

TomTom has this week embarked on a beta test programme to put a new online route planner through its paces.

The new web-based route planner, which is currently free to use, will help business travellers and consumers alike pre-plan journeys with much more information at their disposal, such as real-time traffic flow data and information on historic speed measurements to enable precise travel and arrival times to be calculated.

"The introduction of the online Route Planner marks an important step in our strategy to make our award-winning navigation available for all users, regardless of the platform that is used," said TomTom's chief executive Harold Goddijn in a statement.

"Users who do not have a navigation device can now also benefit from our high-quality routing before starting their journey, giving them a chance to plan their day more efficiently than ever before."

The new online planner will also incorporate changes made to TomTom's route maps as part of the company's Map Share tool.

TomTom completed its purchase of digital map company TeleAtlas earlier this year. TeleAtlas provides the maps used by TomTom's sat nav devices.

Nokia is putting mobile technology to good use in a study that uses real-time traffic data to reduce road congestion and delays.

Dubbed Mobile Millennium, the project will involve data collection from GPS-enabled handsets with the data then used to help drivers make more informed decisions about routes and time of travel.

Anyone who has a compatible handset can take part in the research effort although it looks like just the US will benefit for now.

The work is a collaborative effort involving Nokia Research Centre, UC Berkley's California Centre for Innovative Transport (CCIT), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and digital map maker Navteq, which is owned by Nokia is using its traffic aggregation technology as the system's backbone.

"The global proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices has driven tremendous growth in location-based experiences" said Henry Tirri, vice president and head of the Nokia Research Centre.

"Mobile Millennium, with its unique collaboration of private and public stakeholders, is designed to demonstrate that everyone can help address problems such as traffic congestion. Nokia is proud to be part of this research."

Nokia reckons its system solves the installation and maintenance problems and therefore limited coverage - created by traditional traffic monitoring tools.

"Berkeley is contributing our expertise in traffic modeling and systems engineering to help make this complex system come to life," said Alexandre Bayen, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley. "As part of a public university, we are thrilled to be working on a project with such enormous potential for public benefit."

Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform has received a boost with the announcement the Royal Mail is rolling out a customised version of ALK's CoPilot Live Professional satnav onto 25,000 of its GPS-enabled Intermec CN3 handsets.

The software will enable Royal Mail drivers to take the most efficient route to their destination and also enable customers to see the position of their tracked products in near real-time. This feature will be available to Special Delivery and Recorded Signed For items.

The 25,000 Windows Mobile devices are GPS enabled Intermec CN3 handsets and CoPilot Live Professional will be fully integrated with its on-board job despatch, management and proof of delivery application, Delivery Connect, from Blackbay.

The Delivery Connect system has a button which launches CoPilot, which is then automatically populated with the address details of the destination. On arrival at the destination, the navigation system reverts back to the Delivery Connect for signature capture and proof of delivery.

"By integrating CoPilot Live with Delivery Connect, the Royal Mail aims to increase efficiency and the customer experience through the use of the latest mobile technology" said Ray Vaughan, IT Director, Operations of Royal Mail.

"We don't just provide the SDK and walk away", said Chris Quin, IT Business Manager for ALK, explaining in an interview with IT PRO why Royal Mail and solution provider BlackBay had chosen to work with the company. "We put a team around it to support the specific business requirements, which is different from most players in this space."

"We've got a good background in corporate deployment," said David Quinn, Marketing Director, ALK. "The whole corporate side has really started to grow and this is largely down to our highly flexible SDK.

With 6,000 units rolled out so far and 500 a day are being added this is a major project.

"I believe that this is the larger satnav deployment in history", claimed Quin. "GPS is bringing major functionality to already great device [Intermec CN3]. It's a really great way to use the technology."

However, Quin suggested that this is merely the first phase that could see the solution move from cars to the postie on the street. "The first 25,000 are being deployed to the vehicles, but they're looking at making a wider enterprise solution. They could equip the guys on foot, which would be a major mobility investment."

The European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) have launched procurement for the first of thirty constellations of the European satellite navigation system, the EU rival to America's Global Positioning System (GPS).

The ESA launched its last test satellite in April of this year, but this will be the first leg of the actual system, which is expected to be fully in place by 2013.

European Commission (EC) vice-president in charge of transport Antonio Tajani said the 3.4 billion (2.4 billion) Galileo program will bring the EU into the period of space age technology, and will increase job opportunities.

"By launching this procurement, we are preparing to launch Galileo into a new era where space age technology brings down-to-earth benefits for every citizen and business in Europe," Tajani said. "With Galileo, the European Union will buy a state-of the-art satellite navigation system which will increase economic efficiency and reduce congestion and energy consumption throughout the transport sector. That means boosting growth and jobs and helping to tackle climate change, while also making daily life safer and easier."

In this first phase of the procedure, interested companies should submit a "Request to Participate" to the ESA, and will be short-listed based on criteria set by the ESA.

The notice of the procurement, published in the EU Official Journal on Tuesday, said it is looking for suppliers for six work packages: system support, ground mission segment, ground control segment, space segment (satellites), launch services, and operations.

The Galileo program had previously met with controversy over funding, but in September of last year the EC adopted a proposal to finance the missing 2.4 billion (1.9 billion) to finish the project.

Microsoft has today set its sights firmly on expanding its reach in the portable device market with its first ever operating system (OS) targeted at satellite navigation manufacturers.

The vendor has launched Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 to enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop new connected portable navigation devices (PNDs) that are capable of connecting to online services, Bluetooth-capable mobile phones, Windows-based PCs and the internet.

According to forecasts from mobile analyst firm Canalys, global shipments of portable navigation device solutions are expected to grow 72 per cent year-on-year in 2008 alone. And annual shipment levels will rise to around 100 million units by 2010.

Frank Prengel, Microsoft Windows Embedded developer evangelist, told IT PRO the launch was part of the company's smart connected service oriented' vision for devices.

"Many PNDs today come loaded with static information," he said. "And some offer in-car Bluetooth connectivity to your mobile phone, only for some users to find their phones are not supported," he said. "With an FM receiver built-in, device manufacturers are looking to offer the ability to query traffic information, fuel prices and location-based data, like new restaurants opening in a given area for instance."

Most PND manufacturers, like Garmin and Navman, base their systems on Microsoft's mobile OS, Windows Embedded CE 5.0. NavReady 2009 builds on this OS with production-level code for new features and an advanced Bluetooth stack, Prengel said.

"We're trying to provide lots of drivers typical used by PNDs," he explained. "Windows CE ships with sample code that had to be debugged and optimised, but NavReady comes with production-level code that will help device makers to ship new devices as quickly as possible. The Bluetooth stack will help your mobile phone to pair with the PND and also your car, as we're testing it with tons of the most popular phone models."

In addition to the Bluetooth capabilities, NavReady 2009 features include in-built functionality to connect to Microsoft's Live Search and MSN Direct services. And it also builds in Windows Sideshow functionality for Vista that can turn the PND into a digital picture frame in offline mode.

Prengel added that Microsoft plans to release the same new features for its Windows CE 6.0 release. But "many OEMs want to get these features into development on their existing platforms in time for the holidays," he said.

Chris Jones, Canalys vice president and principal analyst, added: "Personal navigation solutions will increasingly become connected, which will open up new opportunities to add value through the delivery of dynamic information and location-based services. But this is a highly competitive market and it is important that businesses like Windows Embedded help OEMs and others bring these rich devices to market quickly and efficiently."

The Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 technologies are available for download.

Users' appetite for personal navigation devices (PNDs) is set to increase in the coming years, helping the market to top shipments of 100 million units by 2011, according to ABI Research.

Against the backdrop of the current tug of love between Garmin and TomTom to acquire Tele Atlas, the analyst says that Europe is currently the star of the navigation market.

As the consumer navigation market has seen bumper levels of activity this year, ABI is anticipating that the spotlight will shine on the market for some years to come.

It's also expecting strong growth in developing countries like China and India and is predicting that come 2012, more navigation systems will ship in the Asia-Pacific region than any other.

Under the umbrella of this strong market growth, dedicated PNDs will remain the dominant form factor, according to ABI, who believes these devices will be complemented by systems aimed at pedestrian navigation and new usage cases, in addition to new form factors including portable media players, ultra mobile PCs, internet tablets and mobile web devices.

"Handset-based navigation will be stimulated by convergence trends and technological advances in low-cost GPS-receiver integration, and improved indoor coverage," said ABI Research's principal analyst Dominique Bonte. "Driven by the involvement of cellular carriers, off-board handset-based navigation will grow strongly in North America, reaching a sales volume of 21 million units by 2012. It will be a catalyst for the uptake of location-based services such as search, friend finder and tracking features."

Garmin, satellite navigation device maker has launched a 2.3 billion (1.6 billion) takeover offer for digital map maker Tele Atlas, trumping an earlier 1.8 billion (1.25 billion) offer from rival and market leader TomTom.

Garmin's offer is the latest in a string of personal navigation industry buyout attempts.

IT PRO reported in early October that mobile phone maker Nokia had agreed a $8.1 billion (3.9 billion) takeover of navigation software creator Navteq, following TomTom's bid for Tele Atlas in July.

The TomTom/Tele Atlas deal was to be completed by the end of this year, barring the arrival of a more attractive offer, such as the one from Garmin. The sat nav maker has offered 17 per share in a cash deal, a 15 per cent premium over TomTom's offer. TomTom will have the opportunity to make a subsequent bid before 8 November 2007.

"Given the high growth and rapid change the navigation market has undergone to date, we feel that now is the right time for Garmin to move ahead with this proposed combination with Tele Atlas," said Garmin chief executive Dr Min Kao.

The company was also keen to reassure current licensees of Tele Atlas maps that a Garmin takeover would not impact them. "We intend to make Tele Atlas' content available to the entire navigation market on a non-discriminatory basis," Kao added.

Tele Atlas appears positive about the counter bid. "We have notified TomTom of our intention to support and recommend Garmin's proposal, unless TomTom matches the Garmin proposal within the five business day period expiring close of business in the Netherlands on 8 November," the company said in a financial statement.

"The Tele Atlas board has carefully considered and will carefully consider the terms and conditions of each proposal taken as a whole, including all legal, financial and regulatory aspects of such proposals."

In-car sat nav technology is about more than replacing paper maps and local road knowledge, smart use and integration of the technology can also produce significant productivity gains for a business and its users.

One such example of this is supermarket chain Tesco and its online grocery shopping and delivery service. With several million registered customers, Tesco.com processes more than 4,000 orders an hour, generating sales of over 1 billion in its last financial year. Tesco.com delivery drivers cover most of the country, delivering groceries to customers within pre-defined delivery time windows, leaving little margin for error if drivers get lost or stuck in traffic.

While most of its delivery drivers serve fairly small catchment areas - typically, they delivered within a six to 10-mile radius of stores - and are able to rely on and develop their own knowledge of streets and locations of regular customers, the drivers operating out of the company's Croydon delivery store have to serve a much wider area, encompassing almost half of London.

The Croydon store is not your typical Tesco supermarket. While it looks, operates and is restocked like a conventional store, it is closed to the public and filled with trained pickers, the sole job of which is to pick and pack groceries for home delivery. The store is a departure from the past because, historically, pickers have fulfilled orders at Tesco stores close to the addresses of online customers. This store is more like a depot disguised as a conventional supermarket, but it is a formula that works and which fits in with Tesco's operational processes and supply chain system. It also allows the company to provide online delivery facilities to one of the most lucrative and demanding parts of the country.

However, servicing such a large delivery area can create problems for the drivers of the 78 delivery vans that operate out of the Croydon site. While very knowledgeable and capable, such a large delivery area demands London taxi driver knowledge which only comes through years of intensive training. In order to boost efficiency and productivity Tesco.com needed a solution to help its drivers plan their often long and complex routes while at the same time integrating the navigation software with existing applications and processes used for managing the delivery drivers and individual grocery deliveries.

Tesco opted for ALK's CoPilot Live software, using the Pocket PC version and installing it on the Pocket PC-based PDAs that the drivers already carry. The devices are used in place of many piece of paperwork and already have a docking station inside the cab of the delivery van.

"We already had a Pocket PC-based device set up in the cab of each van for capturing signatures, doing refunds and scheduling the order of their deliveries. The PDAs replace a mound of paperwork that the drivers would otherwise carry, so it made sense to make use of the existing hardware" said Jon Higgins, IT Director at Tesco.com.

There were also other operational and security considerations in using the existing PDA over a dedicated piece of hardware.

"The reasons we wanted to add a sat nav solution on to the Pocket PC device rather than add another device was that it added expense, especially if we went for a factory fitted sat nav solution, while a standalone unit raised security and theft issues if it were left unattended in the van while goods were being delivered" said Higgins.

As a rule, the drivers remove all the devices from the van such as the PDA and their phone to reduce the risk of theft, so even adding a removable dedicated unit would have posed issues as it would be yet another item to carry.

"In certain environments, in some parts of London for example where it may be necessary to park the van some distance from the actual delivery point, or where you are delivering to a tower block which will involve leaving the van for some time out of view, this would be more of a security risk than elsewhere, where you may be able to park right outside the front door of the delivery address. In keeping with police advice we would rather not leave these items on display while the van was unattended, else they run the risk of windows being smashed and items being taken" said Higgins.

Tesco.com wanted to fully integrate the CoPilot application into its other Pocket PC application - called Reach - to maximise efficiency and to minimise the amount of rekeying of information that went on. As the Pocket PC device already has the address data on it in Reach, Tesco wanted to pass that information into the CoPilot application and begin plotting a route, rather than asking the driver to spend time manually inputting the data into the sat nav software.

With the two applications talking to each others, when the driver arrives at a delivery address, the CoPilot application drops to the background and the data capture app come to the fore to capture the delivery signature, removing the need to keep switching between applications and transferring information manually.

"Integration took just 12 weeks and was a very straightforward process" said Higgins. "We needed just two people from our store systems team working on the project. They worked closely with ALK and thanks to the development tools available, we found it simple to integrate the CoPilot software with our existing Reach application."

Higgins added that since deploying the CoPilot software to its drivers at the Croydon store, the delivery team is now far more efficient as less time is lost as a result of wrong turns and being stuck in traffic.

"One of the more useful side features of having sat nav in the vans is the ability to reroute around traffic as needed".

Galileo satellite navigation system

European Union

Inmarsat

EADS

Thales

European Commission

The satellite navigation systems in many cars are wide open to potentially dangerous abuse by hackers, warns a security expert.

Andrea Barisani, chief security engineer with Italian consultancy Inverse Path, says systems based on Radio Data System-Traffic Message Channel (RDS-TMC) technology are particularly vulnerable.

He says his own tests show how a hacker could get into such systems and send drivers wrong messages about where to go, and other misleading information.

RDS-TMC is used widely in vehicles across the UK, Europe and the US, typically to provide data on traffic conditions, accidents and detours. Because it does not authenticate the source of data sent to it, says Barisani, the system is open to senders of bogus information, or large amounts of data aimed at swamping it and causing a denial of service.

"I recently bought a new car with an RDS-TMC sat nav feature, which made me wonder how easy it would be for someone to detect it and then inject it with false data," Barisani said. "A colleague and I tested it and discovered it was relatively easy."

He believes there are a number of ways that navigation systems could be abused: "You could divert someone to a secondary road that you know of, and ambush them there. You could create a traffic jam by sending everyone down a narrow street. You could use it to send false terror alerts and spread alarm."

He says company car drivers could be especially at risk from competitors making them divert, or springing a denial of service attack. "A lot of professional people no doubt depend on this technology," he says.

"The trouble is that people trust sat nav," he points out. "It's not like your PC which everyone knows is vulnerable to hackers and viruses, so are wary of. Sat nav naturally inspires blind faith."

Barisani says he is amazed that there is no authentication on RDS-TMC systems: "I know some manufacturers are working on new and more secure standards, primarily for billing purposes though," he says. "These new standards will solve most of the issues but it's going to take quite some time before wide implementation and adoption."

He says he'd like to see more awareness of this, 'so at least the good guys know what the risks are before the bad guys get to work'.

Barisani and colleague Daniele Bianco plan to present their full research at next month's CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver.

Orange has launched a new GPS navigation application that business users can download and enjoy on a variety of mobile devices.

By making such a move, the mobile phone giant hopes to capitalise on users' growing appetite for satellite navigation, in a market that expects to top 14 million units, some one million of which will be smartphone-based, in the UK by the end of this year.

The offering is likely to gain particular favour with companies who have a proportion of staff who spend a lot of time on the road as it is device agnostic.

Orange's business division has teamed up with Webraska to create the offering, which it has dubbed 'Sat-Nav from Orange.'

The new service will feature Navteq maps and live traffic updates, all of which will be stored on a central server and made available for download using Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS or Orange's own EDGE network onto a range of smartphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

The main service costs 150 plus VAT, which includes the necessary licensing, GPS receiver and in-car charger, with downloads charged on a per data usage basis.

The add-on services, such as real-time traffic information and European maps, will each cost an additional 27.59 plus VAT.

"Using Sat-Nav on your mobile means businesses can save time and money," said Gareth Williams, group manager for solution products at Orange Business Services.

"It is easy to use and enables businesses to streamline the number of devices they have to purchase and manage."

Industry expects like analyst Canalys are expecting market growth, which has doubled year-on-year recently, to continue to gain momentum.

But its research suggests that many mobile players still haven't embraced the opportunity.

"Most of the mobile operators still aren't awake to the huge potential of mobile navigation, and it comes a long way down on their priority list, after higher-risk plays like mobile TV," said Chris Jones, director and principal analyst at Canalys in a report published in August.

"It shouldn't. It is perhaps the purest form of location-based service, and has huge potential, not just in terms of subscriber numbers and as a revenue stream in itself, but also as a way of changing customer perception of what a phone is for, thus building a foundation for the delivery of other information services through the handset."

Orange is hoping its foray into this market will bear fruits, both financially and in terms of competitive advantage.

"The location based service market is currently around 55m and estimated to double by 2009 according to the Yankee Group," added Williams.

"Orange is well placed to capitalise on this opportunity through our brand, channel reach, customer service and understanding of how applications work in a mobile environment."