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Navizon's Mobfindr gets your phone to text home
Fiddlesticks, did you just leave your precious iPhone in the bathroom of that gas station back there? Why yes, we're pretty sure you did! If you're looking to verify that with a little more certainty, though, Navizon has just the answer. The company -- already no stranger to positioning apps for the iPhone -- has released its "Mobfindr" feature which allows you to text a key phrase to your beloved companion and have it reply with its current location. Great for finding a lost or recently-stolen phone, tracking children, or perhaps for tracking man's best friend should you decide to strap an iPhone to him in lieu of a Garmin DC 30. The feature's currently available exclusively for the iPhone, but Navizon expects BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and S60 versions in the near future. Follow the break for a look at Mobfindr getting its track on.
Navizon Lite offers free GPS positioning to 1/2 mile
I have posted before about Navizon, the iPhone pseudo-GPS system. It uses cell phone towers to provide a rough estimate of your location without using actual satellite GPS positioning information. It costs $25 to buy and people have reported mixed results. Since all the cell phone tower information is provided by volunteers, some positioning is more accurate, especially in areas with a high population density where people have better filled in data. If you don't mind being off by a half mile or more, Navizon has released a low-rent freebie version that they say is accurate to about 1000 meters. (Navizon claims 10-30m accuracy for the paid version.) This makes the tool pretty much worthless for anyone, say, on the Amazing Race (they took two clues, why weren't they penalized?) but not so bad if it works for people driving along highways. Download a copy from Installer.app.
Navizon offers iPhone refunds
Peer-to-peer wireless positioning firm Navizon is offering refunds to customers who signed up for its $24.95 iPhone service. Now that Apple has put the kibosh on third party development, the company's software no longer works on the iPhone. According to the NY Times, the company did well despite the loss of iPhone sales. Its short-lived iPhone prominence led to over seventy thousand downloads for other phone models.The Navizon "Shareloc's blog" has updated and clarified their position, stating that iPhone development will continue. To conclude otherwise, they write, is "plain false and quite frankly, a bit laughable". Refunds are offered only to those iPhone users who have upgraded to 1.1.1.
Navizon "virtual GPS" comes to iPhone
Today Navizon "virtual GPS" announced support for the iPhone via an application available through Installer.app. Navizon is an interesting concept for getting location information on mobile devices which lack GPS. It does this through a system that Navizon calls "peer-to-peer wireless positioning." Basically the way it works is that people with GPS devices record the location of wifi access points and cell towers. This information is then collated in a database so that when you use your iPhone to connect, it is able to triangulate your location to within a few hundred feet if you're in an area Navizon has data for ("most major metropolitan areas worldwide").The Navizon for iPhone application is $24.99 and a demo is available (get it through Installer.app or go here)Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Navizon virtual GPS system now iPhone-friendly
It's been some time since we've heard anything from Mexens Technology, but now its virtual GPS system is finally available for the iPhone. Yeah, the program still utilizes "WiFi and cellular tower triangulation techniques," but according to the firm's CEO, "this is just as if the iPhone were equipped with a GPS chip." Of course, we're still doubtful that this peer-to-peer location approach works just as good as a bonafide GPS receiver, but considering that you won't be forced to pay the $24.99 purchase price until after 15 days are up, why not give it a go and find out?[Via Shareloc's Blog]
Navizon brings virtual GPS to all
It's not like a Bluetooth or USB GPS sensor will exactly cost you an arm and a leg these days, but monies is monies, and Navizon's new "software only GPS" solution sounds like it'll do the trick just fine. It's not an exactly new idea, but Navizon is really bringing GPS to the peoples with their "peer-to-peer" solution that uses WiFi base stations, cell towers and actual GPS users to triangulate location data for users. The Navizon API can now be embedded straight onto a webpage, giving web developers new nefarious ways to track users, or perhaps even offer fancy functionality if they're feeling particularly magnanimous. There's also a mobile API, and a "reward program" for devices that are packing their own GPS functionality and contributing location data to the system. Sounds like a good time for all, but we'll be interested to see how this works out in practice.
