Newsletter 50

Apple’s all-conquering iPhone is finding increasing use in commercial tracking and navigation applications (or “apps”, in Apple jargon).

AutoAlert, an existing fleet tracking specialist, has launched a system that uses a GPS-enabled iPhone as the tracking device. The user downloads an app to the phone, which is then tracked via the same Web-based control panel interface used by other AutoAlert tacking systems.

Whilst monitoring will normally be done via a desktop, the company says it is also possible to do the monitoring on another iPhone, which can simply access the control panel via a mobile Internet connection.

Included in the package are various features such as route analysis and reporting (these require a monthly fee).

 

Meanwhile, mobile network operator Telefonica (the parent of O2) has launched a satellite navigation “app” for iPhones.

Telefonica says the application turns the iPhone into a fully-functioning navigator, complete with routes, points of interest, 3D images, text-to-speech voice instructions and safety camera alerts.

The application was developed using software by Telmap, a world leader in mobile navigation, and uses Navteq maps. It is already available in Spain and France, and is expected to be launched in the UK soon.