Navx

Bringing value to an industry threatened by commoditization

2009-11-06T14:43:50+01:00

NAVX had the pleasure to be interviewed this week by Ludovic Privat, from GPSBusinessNews. See the video here.

It was an opportunity to discuss how the geolocalization industry is transforming and is threatened by commoditization. With free maps and navigation (see our previous post on Google), we need to create more value, more differentiation.

One way to do it is to provide verified, dynamic and trusted points of interest. That's what we do at NAVX.

Verified: the place is checked, there are no duplicates in the database and the geographic coordinates are accurate

Dynamic: fresh, real-time information is provided, such as gas prices, parking space availability, mobile speedcam locations, etc

Trusted: we rely on user-generated information to build trusted information and provide reliable recommendations

Stay tuned, as we'll soon be more detailed about this concept of "trusted data".

Google: so ?

2009-11-05T06:22:58+01:00

It is now a week since Google announced a free turn-by-turn navigation application for Android, and the industry is still trying to evaluate the impact it will have.

The threat is still theoretical since Google application is (1) for Android only, (2) off-board and therefore not necessarily reliable, (3) only based on US maps and (4) not tested yet by anyone.

However, the potential disruption in the market is clear. We can only imagine the sort of discussion taking place at Garmin regarding the Nuvifone, at TomTom regarding their mobile strategy, at mobile operators regarding their promised LBS revenues, at Telenav regarding their announced IPO.

In the short term, we think it will clearly trigger a defensive reaction from most of the big players. We can anticipate Apple and Nokia to prevent Google from placing its navigation application on their store. By the same token, big mobile operators will probably build fences and remove Google navigation app from their Android phones.

In the long term, let's face it: navigation is becoming a commodity. Advertising will be a valid business model, specially for Google. Others will have to come up with creative business models. Smaller players will seize the opportunity and innovation will burst.

And Content will be even more critical to create differentiation. At NAVX, we like that ;-)

Apple selects "Parking Dispo" among the best apps that make your life easier !

2009-10-23T10:29:50+02:00

NAVX iPhone application "Parking Dispo" allows users to find a parking space (with live info about availability). It has been selected by Apple for its advertising campaign. The ad could be seen this morning, in the streets of Paris, in the subway, in daily newspapers !

Finding a good restaurant with your iPhone

2009-10-16T07:00:00+02:00

Imagine its your birthday, anniversary or you are celebrating a very special occasion! And for this special occasion you would like to go out to a yummy restaurant or a fancy bar with your friends. What would your first step be?

Well, last night, I was organizing a night out with friends to celebrate my birthday. To search for a great restaurant I had two options:

either go to a restaurant I already knew,

or get a (good) suggestion

The first option didn't work out. I had no precise idea, I had left my restaurant cards at home and anyway, I wanted to discover some new place.

So, how could I get a good suggestion ?

What was important to me was to screen restaurants according to their quality, style, price, location. More importantly, I needed to trust the suggestion.

I could have opened a guide (i.e. Zagat, Michelin) or called a friend who shares my taste, or browsed a couple of web sites (i.e. Yelp, OpenTable, Qype, etc). Instead, I figured I would try using my iPhone, and I downloaded a few applications, such as:

some apps which provide editorial content (Zagat, Michelin, I in the City)
some which collect and monitor user-generated content (AroundMe, Qype, DisMoiOu)

Well, it didn't quiet work out and I eventually ended up calling a friend for a good suggestion (I went to MamaShelter) !

But before I tell you why I got frustrated, I'd like to ask you: do you use your iPhone or telephone to search for a restaurant ? Do you know a good iPhone app to search for a good restaurant ?

NAVX @ Navigation & Location US 2009

2009-10-15T07:00:00+02:00

NAVX will participate to Navigation & Location US 09 conference, in San Jose on December 1st and 2nd. It will be an opportunity to share our vision of the market with the main players and have fruitful debates about where the industry is heading.

We will also directly address the topic of Dynamic Points of Interest (POIs) during a panel session on December 2nd shared with Urban Mapping.

Dynamic POIs are points of interest which are linked to a real-time information, such as gas prices for a gas station, or the number of available spots for a parking lot. This dynamic data is critical for connected PNDs, as they provide useful information to end-users and allow GPS manufacturers, mobile operators and software companies to sell subscriptions.

Navx on France Bleu with Parking Dispo

2009-10-14T11:42:25+02:00

navx

NAVX's Essence Eco and Parking Dispo selected as best apps for drivers !

2009-09-25T09:51:19+02:00

Auto Plus, the leading French magazine dedicated to Cars has selected the best iPhone applications for car drivers. And NAVX is nominated twice !

Essence Eco: provides updated gas price information, sorted by distance, brands or prices. Easy to use, accurate, and you'll save on gas ! Get it right from the Appstore here.

Parking Dispo: real-time information about parking space availability. You will never look for a park again ! Get it here.

Parking Dispo ranked 35 in the Top 50 iPhone apps!

2009-07-20T11:33:38+02:00

Parking Dispo is now very popular in the iTunes charts. After only 3 weeks, Parking Dispo ranked 35 in the Top paid apps and has even been picked up by the editorial team at Apple in the New and Noteworthy section on iTunes home page!

Besides providing 1400 car parks addresses all around France, Parking Dispo is the first app able to find an available parking spot in Paris in real time directly on an iPhone & iPod touch.

The community of users can even update information about the car park by simply taking and sending pictures when in the car park.

Parking Dispo is available on the iTunes App Store.

The growth of the connected PND market

2009-05-26T14:21:14+02:00

Connected PNDs are now entering the navigation market, driven by TomTom's product line. Following their high-range products (740 and 940), the Dutch company recently introduced a mid-range TomTom XL priced at 220 euros.

It makes no doubt that the PND market will soon be split in two: on one side, cheap devices with basic functionalities, on the other side mid-high range devices loaded with connected services (e.g. live gas prices, Internet search, traffic, park space availability, etc). PND manufacturers will generate extra revenues from their connected devices through subscriptions.

So, how will the market grow ? Based on forecast published by Berg Insight, a market research company, and on our own analysis, we estimate there will be 560 000 connected devices in Europe by end 2009, and 5 millions by end 2010.

Connected PNDs

2009-05-20T00:38:00+02:00

After the boom of Personal Navigation Devices (PND) from 2004 to 2008, we have been expecting "Connected PNDs" to revive the category and bring innovative services. So, where do we stand today ?

Connected PNDs are navigation devices able to receive dynamic information, mostly through an integrated SIM card with a GPRS/3G connection.

Typical examples of dynamic information are gas prices, traffic and incident information, location of mobile speedcams, parking space availability, weather information, movie times, Internet search, etc.

We reviewed the market and listed the devices available or about to be, and there are plenty, from both big names and small start-ups :

Now that TomTom has showed the way with both mid-range and high-range connected devices, we expect other big names to follow. In a future article, we will try to estimate the market size.