NAVTEQ, the Nokia owned maps and location service, has opened an office in Mumbai for Research and Development. The center intends to employ a team of 150 people. NAVTEQ has centers in U.S., Germany, UK, Korea, Bosnia and Slovakia. Additionally, the company announced a deal last week to power the India map for Navigon's new MobileNavigator iPhone app for India. MobileNavigator India has turn-by-turn navigation, and only uses GPS, so there are no data charges or monthly fees. It claims to have the ability to analyze driver's habits to provide a customized route recommendation and up to two alternatives clearly displayed in-map with estimated time of arrival (ETA), distance and driving times for each. It is also integrated with social networks, route planning, location sharing, iPod integration. There's a claim of making the best parking options available, but you know as well as I do that that is something which is impossible to offer in India. What's interesting is that once bought, all updates are free of charge, but then again, that's why the app is priced at $69.99. Other maps service providers tend to offer lower entry costs, and an annual subscription on top of that. Lets see how long this model lasts, though, with turn by turn navigation on Google Maps for Android. Related: - PR: NAVTEQ Expands Global R&D Capabilities - NAVTEQ Delivers Premium Maps for NAVIGON's New iPhone App in India - Updated: NAVTEQ Launches Mobile Solutions In India; Zee Studios Campaign - MapMyIndia Pilots Traffic…
