Vodafone, Telmap and Multimap launch "Find and Go"

Satnav services extended

21 July 2008 10:36 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Vodafone and Telmap have teamed up with Multimap to introduce the new "Find & Go" service.

Converging PC location based services with the mobile phone, Vodafone customers can for the first time search for a destination on their PCs on the multimap website and send the search result to their mobile phone free of charge.

Using this info, customers can then obtain driving directions from Multimap's Driving Direction Service or receive directions for turn-by-turn pedestrian or driving navigation using the Find & Go service.

Vodafone's Find & Go uses mobile network positioning that claims to make it much faster for customers with GPS handsets to identify their location and search for places or landmarks immediately, without the need to wait for their phone to pick up the satellite signal.

This means searching for locations is now possible even when a customer is indoors or out of the GPS signal range.

Find & Go will suggest route alternatives based on traffic conditions and estimated times of arrival. Designed for both in-car and pedestrian navigation, maps are 3D, the spoken instructions includes street names and there are POIs too.

Available on 14 handsets in total, (6 GPS embedded and additional 8 using the Bluetooth GPS key ring) Find & Go’s maps, local search, and driving directions are free of charge while the "turn-by-turn" navigation service costs £5 per month.

Customers can purchase the service from any Vodafone retail store, through telesales or directly from Vodafone live!, or three months subscription is included on the Nokia N78, 6120 and N95 8GB and one month with other Find & Go compatible handsets.