Big news today from Palm and Sprint. The two announced this morning that the Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6th. The highly anticipated smartphone will be available for $199.99 (with a 2 year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate).

We’re very excited for the Palm Pre to go on sale because it will provide access to Sprint Navigation, powered by TeleNav.

If you haven’t seen Sprint Navigation in action, you might want to take a look at the online demo here for an overview of features and benefits.

If you purchase a Palm Pre on the 6th and try Sprint Navigation, please come back and let us know what you think!

AT&T announced the company’s top selling applications for Q1 today and AT&T Navigator, powered by TeleNav, was the best selling application for the company during the quarter. The application has been the top application for the company since the middle of last year and in the top ten since launch. AT&T Navigator transforms users’ phones into full-featured personal navigation devices, complete with turn-by-turn directions, voice destination entry, a directory of more than 10 million business listings and points of interest, and real-time traffic information.

Also announced today, Nokia fans will be happy to know that AT&T’s top selling application will be available on their new E71x smartphone, which became available today for AT&T customers at a price of $100. Add in AT&T Navigator for $9.99 a month and E71x users can turn their phone into a multi-function device complete with a navigation experience comparable to stand alone personal navigation devices that require a similar investment. Considering AT&T Navigator maps and POI databases are updated frequently and real-time traffic information is included, it’s a nice, cost effective alternative to owning both a smartphone and GPS device, many of which charge additional fees for map updates and traffic information.

The announcement indicates more and more customers see the benefit of having AT&T Navigator on their phones to use during their daily commute, on vacation or to find reviews of the best restaurants in their towns. Let us know what you think about AT&T Navigator and feel free to share interesting stories of how it has helped you.

 

 

Our content partner NAVTEQ says yes.

NAVTEQ released a study this week showing that drivers using GPS navigation devices saw a 12 percent increase in fuel efficiency, which equals a 91-metric-ton decrease in carbon dioxide emissions every year per driver. According to their calculations, GPS navigation could save drivers 416 euros (about 539 US dollars) per year on gas.

Want to ensure you are using your GPS to the extreme? Make sure you’re getting traffic alerts and rerouting, says NAVTEQ.

The study, conducted in Germany, included more than 2,100 individual trips and almost 500 hours on the road.

In the study, one-third of the participants were given a navigation device, one-third had no device and one-third had a GPS device with traffic receivers. Those with a GPS device drove shorter distances and spent less time driving than those without.

So if you’re already using TeleNav on your phone, you’re helping the Earth and your pocketbook. It’s a good start to keeping our planet green. Happy Earth Day!

No one enjoys tax season (except for maybe accountants) and as you put the final touches on your 2008 forms, you may be promising yourself that you will get an earlier start on it next year and keep better records so that it is not so complicated.

If you own a business with vehicles, you can now track and deduct mileage much easier with GPS technology. GPS expert, Fred Zahradnik, writes on his About.com blog that “TeleNav’s Shotgun model car GPS … provides the best solution I’ve seen for automating mileage tracking and logging.”

We also shared some information on using TeleNav Shotgun’s mileage tracking capabilities for your taxes earlier this year. For 2009, the optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile will be 55 cents per mile for business miles driven. For 2008, the business mileage rate was 50.5 cents in the first half of the year and 58.5 cents in the second half.

Depending on your type of business and how many vehicles you use for it, this deduction may really add up. Log 25,000 miles for 2009 for example, and that’s $13,750 in deductions. But accurately keeping track of all of the miles driven for the year is important - and this isn’t always easy.

If you’re in this situation, you may want to take Fred’s advice and consider TeleNav Shotgun. The device connects to the Internet via the wireless network so all of this information is stored for 24 months on your account and can be downloaded from your PC and exported into an Excel or PDF document. This eliminates any manual note taking or scribbles on backs of gas receipts and it also may help you keep more accurate records that are easy to share with the IRS if needed.

Give us a call if you have questions about how the Shotgun can be used for your business. If you’re already using it, let us know what you think. We want to hear your feedback.

If you’re using TeleNav GPS Navigator on your BlackBerry, you are going to want to check out these tips from CIO.com for an even better experience. Did you know that you can launch GPS directly from an address in your email, address book or calendar? Check out the article to see how.

If you’re not yet using TeleNav on your BlackBerry or if you’re thinking about an upgrade, you may want to consider the T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8900 which BlackBerryBlast reports is on sale for $149.99 after mail-in rebate. Then sign up for a year of TeleNav for $99.99 and you’ve got one of the best GPS devices available for less than $250. Or don’t forget about the Amazon.com sale on the T-Mobile G1 - you can pick up this device for less than $100 and combine that with TeleNav for a great GPS experience under $200.

Know of any other deals that we’ve missed? Have any other tips for using TeleNav on your phone?

In January, Sprint and Palm announced the upcoming launch of their highly anticipated device, the Sprint Palm Pre.

Last week, at the CTIA Wireless event in Las Vegas, Sprint and Palm showed off some of the applications and features that will be available on the smartphone when it goes on sale.

Sprint Navigation, powered by TeleNav, is one of those applications and MyPre.com has posted one of the first, if not first, video demos of the service.

If you were wondering how GPS navigation will look on the Palm Pre, here is a sneak peek!

Congratulations to the lucky Engadget reader who won a year of TeleNav GPS Navigator for her T-Mobile G1 today!

If you weren’t as lucky but are also looking for a ‘recession antidote,’ you may want to think about checking out Amazon’s current special on the G1. For just $98, you can purchase a brand new T-Mobile G1 and save about $300 off of the normal Amazon price.

After you get the phone, come back to our site and sign up for a full year of TeleNav for just $99! For less than $200, you will get a connected GPS navigation device that gives you turn-by-turn driving directions, 10 million business listings, traffic alerts, restaurant reviews and so much more.

Oh ya - you’ll also have a great phone!

Once you sign up,  let us know what you think of the service. We love to get the feedback.

About a month ago we announced that TeleNav GPS Navigator is now available on the Verizon BlackBerry Storm.

While at CES in Las Vegas last week, I met with good folks at BlackBerry Cool and gave them a hands-on demo of TeleNav on the Storm. Curious about what it looks like? Click here to see the video in which I give an overview of some of the features and then let us know what you think.

Do you have a BlackBerry Storm? I’ve you’ve tried TeleNav GPS Navigator on it and have feedback, we’d love to hear it!

We’ve written in the past on child locater technology and, as a new mom, I am keeping my eye on these gadgets to see if there are any that I may want to consider in the future.

A UK-based company called Lok8u unveiled a new watch today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

It’s called the Nu*M8 and it’s similar to what we’ve seen in the past in that it comes in the form of a watch. It uses GPS and provides you with the ability to monitor your child’s location online. You can also use text messaging to get the location and you can set up “safe zones.”

What I think really makes it different though is that it will alert you if it is “forcibly” removed from your child - which basically means that you have to deactivate it in order to remove it without an alert being sent. The common concern parents have with GPS devices like watches or cell phones is that it tracks the device, not the child. Other than surgically implanting a GPS chip in your kid (hey, it works for dogs), this may be the next best solution.

Despite the funky name, it looks like a gadget to watch (pun intended). Nu*M8 will cost you about $225 and you’ll also need to pay a subscription fee - ranging from about $7.50 to $30 per month depending on how “heavy” your usage is.