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Garmin Has Role As Sprint Adds Turn-By-Turn Directions to Some Wireless Phones

Posted on: Friday, 9 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 9--Being told where to get off has never been such a positive experience.

Sprint on Thursday unveiled two new wireless phone applications designed to put an end to those "You're lost"... "I know where I'm going" spousal car arguments.

The two programs, including one from Olathe-based Garmin International, bring Global Positioning System technology to Sprint wireless phones.

Both programs, available by subscription from Sprint PCS, offer audio turn-by-turn directions to anywhere in the United States. The programs link the GPS computer chip in Sprint phones to online mapping services, allowing the phones to act as mobile navigators.

"As Sprint customers are out and about going places and driving around, maps and directions are something that makes a ton of sense," said Stephen Fletcher, a product manager for Sprint.

Currently the services are available on only three of Sprint's more sophisticated phones from Sanyo -- the MM-5600, MM-7400 and the ($100 with rebates) MM-8300. They will be available on more phones later this year.

Each mobile navigation service is offered for $9.99 a month.

Wireless companies are looking to services like GPS route planning as a way both to attract new customers and to get existing customers to spend more each month for wireless service.

Fletcher said the audio turn-by-turn service also is a necessary safety feature. "You don't have to be staring at the handset," he said.

Nextel Communications, which recently was purchased by Sprint, has been offering mapping services for more than a year. The company added the service to its popular BlackBerry phones in May.

Cingular Wireless plans to launch a couple of GPS phones soon, including a Pocket PC phone that uses the popular TomTom navigation interface.

Garmin Mobile is the first service offered jointly by the two local companies.

"Garmin Mobile exposes an entirely new group of consumers to turn-by-turn satellite navigation," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "We are thrilled that Sprint Nextel, an industry leader in voice and data communications, has chosen Garmin to provide these exciting new applications and location-based services to their customers."

Using an interface similar to Garmin's latest automotive GPS devices, Garmin Mobile offers a 2-D map view while a businesslike female voice announces (in one case Thursday): "Prepare to turn left on Metcalf Boulevard."

The program also locates nearby businesses, such as restaurants and retail stores, and offers phone numbers and a link to call.

Server-based programs allow Garmin to deliver the latest mapping information to wireless phones anywhere in the country, said Ted Gartner, a spokesman for Garmin.

The $9.99 monthly subscription fee may attract potential GPS users unwilling to spend $300 to $1,500 or more for those dedicated navigation devices, Gartner said.

Garmin Mobile also is the first server-based navigation application that shows a user's position on a map, updating that position as he or she drives or walks, according to the company.

The second Sprint navigation program, TeleNav, is similar to a program Nextel has been offering on some phones for more than a year. TeleNav also gives turn-by-turn audio directions, but offers a large arrow instead of a map view to tell drivers where to turn.

Like Garmin Mobile, Santa Clara, Calif.-based TeleNav offers to locate nearby restaurants and businesses, and also has a feature showing the nearest low-priced gas.

An informal field test of the two services on Truman Road and around the downtown loop Thursday showed both strengths and weaknesses.

TeleNav tends to find a route faster than Garmin Mobile, but TeleNav's visual and audio interfaces aren't as user-friendly. The gas station feature didn't appear to be always accurate.

Both programs worked well when asked to calculate a route, and when they announced an upcoming turn. The Garmin audio was decidedly better than that offered by TeleNav.

But neither program worked well when a driver missed a turn. TeleNav didn't spot errors for several blocks, then offered a new route. Garmin Mobile spotted errant turns even more slowly before offering a new route.

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GRMN, S, SANYY, 6764, RIMM, RIM, BLS, SBC,

Source: The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)

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