Wayfinder and Sony Ericsson Extend Global Cooperation on GPS-Enabled Handsets
Written by Wayfinder
Thursday, 09 October 2008
Companies to offer advanced navigation solutions based on Tele Atlas maps across a wide range of phones
Stockholm, October 9, 2008 Wayfinder announced today that it has extended its agreement with Sony Ericsson which will enable Wayfinder to preload a richer, longer term navigation offering on a range of current and future Sony Ericsson mobile phones.
The Wayfinder Navigator application brings affordable, mobile phone-based navigation to the mass market. It allows consumers to download Tele Atlas-based maps of more than 70 countries to their mobile phones and avoid expensive data roaming costs, even when traveling abroad.
To date, Wayfinder has provided a three-month trial of its Navigator application on a range of Sony Ericsson handsets, including the recently launched GPS-handsets W760 Walkman and C702 Cyber-shot and the upcoming C905 Cyber-shot phone. Additionally Wayfinder has provided a 1 year license to users of the P1i smart phone from Sony Ericsson. Under the new agreement, the Sony Ericsson phones will feature full navigation capabilities, including lane and sign post information, which is now available as a 12 month regional, continental European or lifetime navigation offering.
With the increased importance of GPS-phones in our portfolio, I am delighted to further expand our relationship with Wayfinder, says Rikko Sakaguchi, Corporate Vice President and Head of Creation & Development, Sony Ericsson. We work closely together in order to deliver a user experience second to none in the fast growing location based services field soon to become a mass market service, he continues.
Ease of use and simplicity are key components of our product strategy, and the expansion of this agreement is a testimonial to the success of that approach, said Magnus Nilsson, CEO of Wayfinder Systems. Wayfinder will enable Sony Ericsson and its operator customers to offer our navigation and location services at mass market prices to end-users around the world.
About Wayfinder
Wayfinder is a leading provider of innovative location services. We focus on combining best practice of technology and ease-of-use. Our clients are major mobile phone manufacturers and operators all over the world and we have a growing base of unique users that now exceeds 2 million users. The head office is located in Sweden with regional offices in France, Finland and Romania. Wayfinder Systems AB is listed on the NGM Equity stock exchange in Sweden.
About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the worlds most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has approximately 2,000 full-time staff and contract cartographers at offices in 24 countries. Today, Tele Atlas maps are developed with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who are adding to the companys unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com. Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V.
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