GPS device: The hi-tech route guide- LiveITUP-Special Pages-Features-The Economic Times

Ask for directions, and you get the famous head wiggle...it’s difficult to read people’s vocal wobble or the elusive street signs. Wading through the traffic amid a cacophony of honking vehicles, rush hour commuters may look out for sanity savers to survive the noisy maze. Digital maps and navigation devices come to the rescue during road trips.

MaymyIndia, India’s leader in digital maps and consumer navigation devices, recently launched iNav, its GPS navigation solution for mobile phones. Using satellites that transmit microwave signals, the GPS receiver in mobile phones determines the location, direction and speed.

Supported by real-time graphical maps and voice guidance, iNav enhances navigation experience with graphically-enhanced points of interest (like petrol bunks, hospitals, ATMs). One can also preview the route in a simulation mode to avoid detours.

If you think good things come in flexible packages, iNav’s product duo follows suit with varied price points to reach out to the masses. An after market product, iNav has two options: iNav Connect and iNav Loaded. Powered by the Wayfinder software, users can subscribe to iNav Connect navigation services for as low as Rs 249 a month to Rs 1,190 for a half-yearly subscription.

This service streams maps live over data network and is an ideal pick for first time navigation users. INav Loaded allows users to download the service on their phones with one-time fee. For instance, lifetime navigation for one state costs Rs1,190 and to avail this benefit pan India, it costs Rs 4,490. “Digital maps don’t exist in India is a myth.

MapmyIndia is seeding the navigation market with devices that come at different price points. Mobiles have rudimentary maps, thus the need for comprehensive navigation services. We have tied up with retail chains to expand our footprint,” says Rakesh Verma, MD, MapmyIndia. MapmyIndia’s repository of digital maps assist drivers to navigate through 55,000 towns and prominent landmarks across 150 cities. It also provides location-based services with regional and India-specific maps depending on the requirement. It also comes with connect options allowing users to share navigation data over MMS.

MaymyIndia has this first to its credit. MapmyIndia Navigator, the recently launched in-car GPS navigation device, will now come equipped as a standard accessory in all variants of General Motors’ premium cars in India. MapmyIndia Navigator is a portable, satellite-connected, in-car GPS device, that provides real time, voice guided, turn-by-turn navigation for seamless travel across India.

“We are excited to partner with GM and improve the in-car and driving experience of GM car owners with the MapmyIndia Navigator GPS. This partnership is one more step for us in the direction of MapmyIndia’s own vision of providing Indian consumers the best navigation products and services on the internet, mobile and in-car,” says Verma.

The device comes in two hardware models — Delphi Nav 200 and AMAX 06GP5A with 3.5’’ colour touch screen and built-in GPS. The Delphi model, pre-loaded with Indian maps, is priced at Rs 20,990. AMAX model with single map costs Rs 14,990, while all-India map enabled units is priced at Rs 17,990.

The device is a perfect fit for cars with standard accessories such as dashboard mount, car and wall chargers and a host of other multimedia features to keep you entertained. You don’t have to bear the brunt at least with navigation. There is some respite when it comes to keeping your sanity intact on choked streets.