Ad Supported/Free GPS and Travel Concierge Announced

[RobBrady]

Is this the future for GPS; are you one step away from your next SatNav being subsidised by advertising companies?

After years of talk sprinkled with a good measure of hype, location based services are still dragging their feet. The GPS industry is still keenly looking for the most suitable business models, Amongst all the noise, is it possible that the push start needed lies in subsidised, even free, handsets?

adNav, a GPS marketing solutions company, has signalled its upcoming launch of Boomerang, an ad supported mobile concierge system integrated with GPS navigation aimed to help both business and leisure travellers while away from home. Scheduled to launch in November, adNav announced their product at CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment in San Francisco this week.

Powered by Tele Atlas digital map data and content, the system offers unlimited access to services such as restaurant, movie, event and city guides, weather, currency exchange calculators, live flight information and mobile Internet access connected via mobile networks and WiFi. It even contains mobile room service and games to while away the time in your hotel room.

Boomerang will be offered, depending on partner, at little or no cost to the end user.

"The Boomerang will revolutionize the interaction that consumers have with their travel service providers," said Mordy Loksen, Co-Founder and CTO of adNav. "By offering a product with constant connectivity, we have a multitude of exciting applications already and many more in the works that create an accurate, reliable offering that will enhance any trip."

Boomerang will be available to travel service providers through adNav’s partner hotels and car hire companies as an added value concierge service for guests. Local recommendations will be constantly available via a connection through the virtual concierge desk.

When a traveller arrives at an adNav partner hotel or car rental, they will be offered full functioning voice guided GPS navigation, including unlimited access to the web through WiFi and cellular networks.

Additionally, users will have access to hundreds of pages of geo coded city and restaurant guides allowing them to touch the desired destination in the city guide and receive directions through GPS.
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Robert Brady

[alistairm1]

Unfortunately, I can just see this as developing from being another way for marketing information to be delivered into something far more insidious.
I can see this technology being hijacked, and "sponsored" POI files being downloaded to your device without your intervention.
The next step would be to have voice adverts attached to the POI files so when you pass within a certain distance of a particular retailer you get the advert played.
After that, how about dynamically re-routing you to the nearest shop, or garage, or restaurant?
"Press the 'NO' button now to resume your original route"

Think it won't happen?

One of the reasons TMC is not as well developed as it could be is that there is little or no money to be made.
Can you see Tesco, Sainsbury's et al turning down the chance to grab more customers, and more profit?

I just hope I am being paranoid.

Nurse, the screens!!!

[GJF]

[GPS_fan]

You could both be right, but is this what we, the user, wants?

I find the standard POIs generally so far out - petrol stations in the middle of fields etc that I probably wouldn't use it myself.

There's little point in having a device which tells you where there's a cashpoint if you still have to walk to the other end of the high street to its correct position.

Also, I've seen numerous comments on here of people moaning about false alarms for speed cameras etc - so how will users react if they're alerted to every McDonalds, Burger King, KFC etc...my feeling is that whilst it may sound like a good idea it won't be long before it gets on peoples' nerves
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Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[GJF]

[mostdom]

Ads on gps might be more likely in the US than the UK. Current UK law prevents adverts on motorways as it can interfere with the driver at high speeds. So an ad system that undermines this will be frowned upon by the establishment.

The US has no user rights, so they are stuffed from the off!
_________________
Dom

HERE LIES PND May it rest in peace.
Navigon 7310/iPhone Navigon&Copilot

[GJF]

[GPS_fan]

There have already been instances of people driving up railway lines at level crossings and other fundamental slip ups with drivers blaming GPS for getting them into these situations.

If a driver is bombarded with other information which isn't necessarily relevant to their route or guidance (ie advertising), then surely this kind of thing would become more common - even amongst more seasoned users of GPS

I'm a little sceptical about how this technology would work.

Anything other than a guidance instruction will surely be a distraction and interfere with the drivers ability to negotiate a route and the less experience a driver has of using GPS, the greater the risk
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Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[mostdom]

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