Navi2Go – 3D Image Navigation System on Mobile Phone

Navi2Go is a patented mobile application of a 3D image navigation system that provides all the features offered by In-Car Navigation Systems. Within the two months since its launch across the U.S and U.K in April 2008, Navi2Go jumped up to the bestseller position in those marketplaces with mobile operators such as Verizon, Sprint and Orange UK.

The user growth has kept steady at a 30% monthly increase; thousands of people are currently using Navi2Go.

Navi2Go gives mobile users intuitive navigation with real 3D photos and turn-by-turn voice guided navigation. Satellite and aerial imagery can be streamed over limited-bandwidth communications. Many other features are also offered such as “searching spots” and “finding address”.

3DVU, the Navi2Go provider, has previously developed the Car Navigation System. With the belief that the future of navigation is in mobile devices, 3DVU shifted its focus to Navi2Go.

Navi2Go is available for $9.99 a month and without any additional registration fees or other kinds of additional charges, which is a standard market price for mobile navigation applications, and a user can terminate the monthly subscription at any time. Considering that the In-Car Navigation System costs a few hundred dollars in the U.S for installation, and its sole benefits are reducing driving time and preventing the driver from getting lost, Navi2Go is quite innovating in the sense that the price is accessible to everyone and the application is not limited to the inside of your car to search for specific locations or finding directions; as long as you have your cell phone you have access to the service.

Demo (see this video on Vator.tv)

Availability

The current version of Navi2Go offers country-wide navigation assistance in the US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal and Belgium. Navi2Go works with popular smartphones such as Blackberry, Pocket PC and others with the Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems. In my interview with her, Mor Levanon, a marketing director at 3DVU, noted that Navi2Go is to be available for the iPhone by the end of 2008 and for Android in the near future.

Also according to Mor, 3DVU plans to release Navi2Go in Japan in 2009 and in China and Korea in the near future as well. In Japan, where smartphone penetration is relatively low, Navi2Go is to be available for non-smartphones.

For those who are interested in Navi2Go, it is available at 3DVU’s shop, mobile application shops (i.e. Handango) and mobile operator’s pages (i.e. Sprint, Orange UK).