Navteq Global Lbs Challenge(tm) - Asia-pacific Winners Announced

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18th June 2008, 08:46pm - Views: 1229









NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge(TM) - Asia-Pacific Winners Announced


SINGAPORE, June 18 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --


   Joikusoft Wins Grand Prize in Annual Location-Based Developers' Program  

    NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions

and vehicle navigation, announced yesterday during an awards ceremony at CommunicAsia 2008

that Joikusoft is the Grand Prize Winner of this year's NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge -- Asia-

Pacific (APAC). 


    As the Grand Prize Winner, Joikusoft received a prize package valued at $275,000 USD,

including $50,000 USD in cash and $225,000 USD in NAVTEQ(R) data licenses.  Joikusoft's

solution, JoikuSpot, is a free location-aware mobile software solution that turns Nokia Smartphones

into hotspots. When JoikuSpot software is installed on the phone, laptops and internet tablets, it can 

establish wireless internet connections via the phone's 3G internet connection.  Virtually any

wireless device can become its own hotspot.   


    Three runners-up were also announced: First Runner-up, Road-Guard; Second Runner-up,

Point-I; and Third Runner-up, Pacific DataVision.  Each runner-up received $7,500 USD in cash

along with data licenses valued at $150,000 USD. 


    Road-Guard's GreenDrive(TM) patented technology helps drivers develop smart and safe driving

techniques that lead to average fuel savings of 10-25%. GreenDrive senses the nature and

significance of impending road attributes that influence fuel consumption and alerts the driver.

GreenDrive provides drivers with both real-time and historical information about their eco-driving 

performances.     


    Point-I's solution, On2Gether, provides communication, location information, security and

entertainment all at once. Location-based features include message, call and chatting, avatars, and

pictures between friends.  On2gether also provides indirect exposure of location information by

showing only the distance on the home screen, and helps guarantee security by sending the

location periodically when in safety mode.  On2gether is perfect for social networking between

friends.   


    Pacific DataVision's solution, SkyMail, enables mobile workers to quickly send a prioritized voice

message with their location from a mobile phone to any email address in the world. Locator for

SkyMail provides user-initiated tracking and includes GPS coordinates, physical address, an

interactive map, and timestamp in addition to the SkyMail prioritized voice message.   


    The annual Global LBS Challenge, which has established a reputation as the premier event in

the location-based services (LBS) industry, invites developers to build innovative location-enabled

applications that work with mobile phones and/or wireless handheld devices using dynamic

positioning technology and NAVTEQ map data.  The announcement of the APAC winners 

concludes the 2008 Global LBS Challenge which also had winners in the Europe-Middle East-Africa

(EMEA) region and Americas region announced earlier in the year. The total value of prizes,

consisting of cash and data licenses awarded by NAVTEQ and sponsors, totaled over $4.5 million

USD.   


    The twelve semifinalists representing the APAC region embody a broad spectrum of wireless

applications and were selected based on commercial feasibility, functionality, ease of use and

Science Telecommunication NAVTEQ 2 image

design.  The final judging panel included executives from Autodesk, Bridge Mobile, Celcom,

Garmin, Mobility Magazine, Motorola, Nokia, Reliance Entertainment, Singapore Land Authority, 

Singtel, and SK Telecom. Since the launch of the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in 2003,

approximately 25% of the semifinalist companies have gone on to receive venture capital funding or

launch commercially-distributed applications, many on major wireless carriers. 


    Nokia returned as a three-time Global Sponsor of this year's contest, with the Nokia N95 serving

as the Official Device of the 2008 Global LBS Challenge.  Autodesk also returned as a multi-year

sponsor and as a Global Sponsor for the first time.  GPS World is the Media Sponsor. 


    "Nokia is proud of our ongoing sponsorship with the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, which

consistently surfaces leading-edge mobile LBS applications for the market. It's been especially

valuable for us this year to see the wide breadth of LBS solutions, all designed and presented on

the GPS-enabled Nokia N95," said Kenny Mathers, head of Forum Nokia APAC developer

relations, Nokia. 


    "Through our sponsorship of the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, Autodesk is pleased to extend

the reach of our leading platforms and tools to the LBS developer community, especially in the

Asia-Pacific region where opportunity abounds. The Global LBS Challenge aligns with our goal of

helping developers bring their cutting-edge solutions to market, faster," commented Rod Egdorf, 

head of worldwide sales and marketing, Autodesk Location Services.  


    "The Global LBS Challenge for the APAC region has been extremely successful both in terms of

incredible interest as well as the quality of the applications submitted. With the richness of

developer talent and the advancement of mobile technology in the region, the future of LBS in Asia-

Pacific is extremely promising," commented Jeff Mize, executive vice president, sales, NAVTEQ. 

"NAVTEQ congratulates all the regional winners of the 2008 Global LBS Challenge and looks

forward to next year's competition." 


    For more information about the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, go to


 

    About the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge 

    First launched in 2003, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is focused on driving the

development and visibility of innovative navigation solutions for wireless devices.  From wireless

business applications to sports, travel and security, integrating the accuracy and richness of

NAVTEQ digital map data facilitates the timely evolution of the next wave of LBS.  The 2008 Global

LBS Challenge features a global prize pool valued at almost $4.5 million US in cash and prizes. 

 

    About NAVTEQ 

    NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive

navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and

government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power

navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company

was founded in 1985 and has more than 3,600 employees located in 187 offices and in 39 

countries. 


    NAVTEQ and the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge are trademarks in the U.S. and other

countries. All rights reserved. 

 

    This document may include certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are

not limited to, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this

press release that are not historical facts and statements identified by words such as "expects,"

"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or words of similar meaning. The

statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations and are inherently subject to various

risks and uncertainties, including those set forth under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in each of the

Science Telecommunication NAVTEQ 3 image

Company's most recent Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange

Commission. 

 

    Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global political,

economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. NAVTEQ does not undertake any

obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document. 

 

    (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060313/NAVTEQLOGO

 

SOURCE  NAVTEQ  

    

    CONTACT:  Jennifer Schuh of NAVTEQ, 

              +1-312-894-3913, 

              Jennifer.schuh@navteq.com; 


              or Shashin Surti, 

              65-6825-8000, 

              navteq@webershandwick.com, 

              for NAVTEQ


     Photo:  NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060313/NAVTEQLOGO 

             AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org 

             PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/ 

    

  Web site:  http://www.navteq.com  

             http://www.LBSChallenge.com

    (NVT) 


















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