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    Announcing the Thanksgiving on TeleNav Contest!

    Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

    Do you hear that? Was that a turkey gobbling in the background? Nope, turns out it was just Mark from the PR team gobbling behind the office printer. And by Mark, what I mean is me. Why was I gobbling?  I was gobbling because here at TeleNav, thoughts of Thanksgiving have been popping into our brains and that got us thinking - if we love Thanksgiving, chances are you love Thanksgiving too. And that’s when we came up with idea for our “Thanksgiving on @TeleNav” contest!

    What is the “Thanksgiving on @TeleNav” contest? Imagine being able to feed up to eight of your closest friends and family with a full Turkey & Trimmings Dinner without having to get the giblets out of the bird, peel the potatoes, or turn off the smoke detector after the pie decided it was a bit too hot. By entering the Thanksgiving on TeleNav contest, you have a chance to do just that and the best part is, it’s all on us!

    So how do you enter? It’s simple and takes just a few seconds:

    * Follow @TeleNav on Twitter
    * Become a fan of our Facebook Page
    * Tweet out, I want Thanksgiving on @TeleNav! #TeleNavWin

    It’s just that easy! The contest runs through this Friday at 12pm (PST) and the winner will be announced the same day!

    Please be sure to read all of the official rules below. Good luck!

    Note: Turkey & Trimmings Dinner is in the form of a $150 gift certificate from OmahaSteaks.com

    __________________________________________________________________

    TeleNav, Inc. Blog Contest Rules

    NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

    1. How to Enter: Beginning November 10, at 12:00 p.m. (PST) through November 13, at 12:00 p.m. (PST) go to [Blog Link]

    2. Winner Selection: Winner will be selected at random using TweetAways.com.

    3. Prizes and Approximate Retail Values: $150.00 Gift Certificate to OmahaSteaks.com

    4. Entries: To enter, applicants must follow the official TeleNav Twitter account, become a “fan” on TeleNav’s Facebook Page, and tweet on Twitter, “I want Thanksgiving on @TeleNav!” Limit one (1) entry per person and per e-mail address for contest. Entries using macro, robotic, script, or other forms of automatic entry will be disqualified. Entries become the property of TeleNav and will not be returned. If there is a dispute as to the identity of an online entrant, the prize will be awarded to the authorized account holder of the e-mail address. The “authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person to whom the e-mail address is assigned by an Internet service provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

    5. Eligibility: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada who have reached the age of majority in their state or province of residence at time of entry. Void where prohibited by law. Employees of TeleNav, its affiliates, and subsidiaries (and members of their immediate family and/or those living in the same of household of each such employee) are not eligible.

    6. Conditions of Participation: All participants must have a valid e-mail address, and it is entrant’s responsibility to update TeleNav of any change in e-mail address. Expenses not specifically included in prize description and all taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. No transfer, assignment, or substitution of a prize permitted. All federal, state, provincial, and local laws and regulations apply. Entrants agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of TeleNav, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest. All Participants may be required to sign any documents necessary to transfer copyright of the entry to TeleNav within 7 days following the date of first attempted notification. Submission of an entry constitutes permission for TeleNav and its agencies to use the Participant’s name and/or likeness, biographical material, and/or entry (including an altered form of the entry) for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

    7. Internet: TeleNav is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware, or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by TeleNav on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Website or any combination thereof. TeleNav reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. Any attempt by a participant to deliberately damage any Website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, TeleNav reserves the right to seek damages from any such participant to the fullest extent of the law.

    8. Disputes/Choice of Law: Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by state or federal courts situated in Santa Clara, California; (2) any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event attorneys’ fees; (3) no punitive, incidental, special, consequential, or other damages, including without limitation lost profits may be awarded (collectively, “Special Damages”); and (4) entrant hereby waives all rights to claim Special Damages and all rights to have such damages multiplied or increased. California state law, without reference to California’s choice of law rules, governs the Promotion and all aspects related thereto.

    9. TELENAV: If you have questions about this Contest you may reach TeleNav at KenjiO@TeleNav.com.

    TeleNav Files for IPO

    Monday, November 2nd, 2009

    Friday, a registration statement was filed for TeleNav’s initial public offering (IPO). You can find a full copy of our press release here.

    As you may know, the SEC has strict guidelines about what a company can communicate when it is in registration. We’re officially in a quiet period (or waiting period). Because of that, we cannot answer questions or provide comments about the IPO, our registration statement or other topics that would cause us to run afoul of the SEC’s rules.

    However, we will continue to share news and other product information on our blog and will also continue to answer questions you have about our products. In other words, business as usual for the most part so please keep your comments and questions coming as we appreciate all of your feedback.

    Have a great week!

    Video: Sprint Navigation (powered by TeleNav) on the Samsung Instinct HD

    Friday, September 25th, 2009

    Samsung and Sprint are partnering to bring the new Samsung Instinct HD phone to you this Sunday, Sept. 27. As you can see in the video, I had a chance to play with the phone for a few days and I’ll tell you that there’s something really sexy about this little device. The Instinct HD felt really solid as a piece of hardware and the touchscreen has a nice response and tactile feel to it, which kept me from ever guessing if the phone recorded my touch or not.

    I decided to hop in my trusty Corolla S (Toyota, you can address the check to me) which is now becoming famous on our YouTube channel thanks to previous demos. For this trip, I decided to head to a local Bank of America branch and as you can see, Sprint Navigation (powered by TeleNav) on the new Samsung Instinct HD got me there without a hitch. What was most impressive to me was the speed at which the application fired up and had me on my way.

    Some of the features you’ll see in the video demo include full text-to-speech with spoken street names, a POI search (from the more than 10 million that are included with the app), and you’ll hear the application search for traffic congestion along our route. Fortunately in this demo I didn’t run into any traffic issues, which for the Bay Area, is pretty rare.

    Enjoy the video and check out the Samsung Instinct HD on Sprint, it’s definitely the type of phone that will make your friends jealous. And who among us doesn’t enjoy doing that.

    Big Contest Still Open . . . And an Inside Look Into TeleNav

    Thursday, September 24th, 2009

    Time is ticking away for you to win one of the biggest prizes we’ve ever given away here on the TeleNav Blog. You only have four days left to enter to win a full year of TeleNav service for you and a friend. The season of giving is quickly approaching, so why not get a head start and hook one of your friends or family members up with GPS navigation on their mobile phone. Just think, they’ll never be able to blame getting lost as the reason they missed your wedding again.

    So how do I enter you ask? It’s very easy. All you have to do is click on THIS LINK and visit the original contest post. Leave a comment as to why your friend deserves (or in most cases NEEDS) TeleNav’s GPS navigation application on their phone and we’ll select the best five entries. As I mentioned above, the winners get a year of service for themselves and the friend or family member they nominated. To all of you couples out there, this is your chance to finally end one of the arguments that has plagued humankind for centuries.

    But wait, there’s more. As part of our extended 10 Year Anniversary Celebration, we thought it would be great to give readers of our blog an inside peek into what life is like inside the friendly confines of the TeleNav offices. So, we took some time to visit with employees in our Seattle and Sunnyvale offices to shoot a brief video and ask them a few questions about what it’s like being part of the TeleNav family. Oh, and keep an eye out for a special edition of “TeleNav Idol” with our own versions of Randy, Paula and Simon (we later had our own Ellen announce that she was replacing Paula). We hope you enjoy this short video on life at TeleNav and if you want to see more, you can view some fun pictures of BBQs, team outings and other events at TeleNav here. Now go enter that contest!

    Video: TeleNav GPS Navigator in 2002 - our first color version!; Contest Reminder

    Friday, September 18th, 2009

    This week, we’re continuing to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. If you haven’t already entered to win a year of TeleNav GPS Navigator for you and a friend, don’t forget! You can enter by adding a comment on this blog post about why someone else should win. It’s that easy!

    In the meantime, we thought we’d share with you a video of one of the very early versions of TeleNav GPS Navigator. This is from our first color version (remember when most phones where black and white??) from 2002. It’s on a Nextel i95 phone and you can see the difference in our service from only a few years ago and now. Awww…we were so young then….

    The audio is not good in this video so mute your speakers before you press play.

    The TeleNav Anniversary Celebration Continues - It’s Contest Time

    Monday, September 14th, 2009

    As I mentioned in a post from last week, we celebrated our 10th anniversary last Wednesday and we just can’t seem to let the celebration end. We had a wonderful anniversary party over the weekend (stay tuned, video of the festivities to come) and are continuing to let the good times roll with a number of exciting videos, contests and fun facts over the course of the next week (heck, maybe even the next two!)

    When we were deciding the best way to kick off our extended celebration, we thought there could be nothing better than hearing from some of our friends. So we put together this short video of birthday wishes from some editors and bloggers who’ve used TeleNav products over the years and have covered us during the ups and downs. It’s quite the assortment and very entertaining, so we think you’ll enjoy it.

    We also wanted to kick off the celebration with one of the biggest contests we’ve held here on our blog.

    It’s all about paying it forward, so we’re asking you to submit a comment below explaining why someone you know deserves to receive TeleNav service on their phone.

    It could be someone who is constantly getting lost, a frequent traveler, or someone who is always arriving late. The comments will be evaluated by a team here at TeleNav and the TOP FIVE submissions will receive ONE YEAR OF TELENAV SERVICE FOR THEMSELVES AND THE PERSON THEY SUBMITTED. Check out the full-contest details here: telenav-blog-contest-rules_final We’re very excited to see how creative you can be with your submissions.

    Good luck and thanks again to Todd Haselton (LAPTOP Magazine), Wilson Rothman (Gizmodo), Al Sacco (CIO.com), David Ciccone (Mobility Today), Nan Palmero (BlackBerry Cool), Matt Miller (ZDNet and Nokia Experts) and Greg Kumparak (Mobile Crunch) for sending us a Happy Birthday video!

    TeleNav Modifies Routing for Bay Bridge Closure this Weekend

    Friday, September 4th, 2009

    If you live anywhere near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and have not already left town for the long Labor Day weekend, then you are likely going to be one of the thousands of people impacted by the Bay Bridge closure this weekend (follow updates on Twitter).

    In what organizers are calling an “unprecedented construction feat,” the bridge is closed from now until 5am on Tuesday in order to bring the entire structure up to current earthquake standards.

    While it’s closed, drivers are encouraged to drive alternative routes and/or take public transit. But do you know what the alternative routes are?

    In order to help our customers get around this weekend, TeleNav has modified our routing so that you will automatically be directed around the Bay Bridge. Whether you are using TeleNav GPS Navigator, AT&T Navigator, Sprint Navigation, Alltel Navigation or any of our other connected navigation services, we will guide you around the bridge and hopefully help you avoid some of the traffic hassles of the closure.

    We love that our connected GPS service allows us to offer these real-time modifications and updates so you don’t have to worry about accidentally turning down the wrong road and getting stuck in traffic. Let’s let the people with the standalone GPS devices or the basic map programs who are stuck relying on static maps sit and wait for the bridge to open.

    If you’re in the area and use our service this weekend, please let us know! We love to get the feedback.

    iSuppli Says Smartphone GPS will Reign Supreme by 2013

    Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

    iSuppli predicts smartphone GPS to become more popular than standalone GPS devices by 2013

    When I first started working at TeleNav over three years ago, many (if not most) people had no idea that you could get GPS navigation on a cell phone. This is not a formal stat - just anecdotal evidence based on my conversations with family and friends. They knew about GPS on cell phones but thought of it more as something the government uses to track people or things (gotta love Hollywood…) rather than something that would be useful in every day life.

    But now, within a very short timeframe, the difference in awareness is undeniable. With smartphones becoming more prevalent and most phones now coming with GPS mapping or navigation capabilities built in, it may be harder to find someone who isn’t aware of GPS navigation on their phone.

    In fact, according to iSuppli, by 2011, nearly 100% of phones will have integrated GPS functionality. In addition, the firm predicts that by 2013, the number of smartphones with GPS turn-by-turn navigation will surpass the number of standalone GPS devices in use.

    “The days of supremacy for the personal navigation device (PND) in the global navigation market are coming to an end, ” according to iSuppli.

    Maybe it was the word “supremacy” that did it but this report has resulted in a slew of interesting headlines:

    Slay … crush … kill - an interesting choice of words and perhaps a good example of how competitive this industry is. As they say though, competition breeds growth and innovation and I’m looking forward to 2013 to find out if iSuppi’s prediction comes true.

    New Poll Suggests College Freshman Aren’t Prepared to Navigate New Surroundings

    Monday, August 31st, 2009

    It’s back to school time … do you know where your kids are?

    A new poll says they may not either.

    In partnership with the College Parents of America, we surveyed current college students to find out what life had been like during their freshman year.

    Here are some quick stats from our poll:

    • More than 50% of the students we asked said they hadn’t felt confident in their ability to find their way around their college town before heading to school their freshman year.
    • More than 60% said they were not familiar with the location of businesses or buildings (with more than 1/3rd of this group saying it took more than 3 mos. to figure it out)
    • More than 50% said they would not have been able to locate the police station in an emergency
    • More than 40% said they would not have been able to locate the nearest hospital
    • More than 40% said they got lost during their first year and 1/4 of these said it had caused them to fear for their safety

    And don’t think that just because your kid is staying in-state means they know their way around. 45% of the students who said their school was within 200 miles of home still weren’t confident about driving around town.

    If you think that your kid has a plan to get acclimated to their new college town, think again. The #1 way students said they found they way when they were lost? Waiting until they hit a landmark or other location that they recognized. The 2nd most popular (not so scientific) method was to depend on someone else in the car to lead the way.

    So you ask them not to drink and drive, remind them not to text and drive, and just in general, encourage them to be safe drivers. But how do you ensure they are confident navigating their new stomping grounds?

    James Boyle, president of College Parents of America, sat down with us for a few minutes to give us his best advice for parents. You can listen to the conversation here:

    jim-boyle_college-parents-of-america

    A few tips include:

    1. Give your kids some sort of GPS technology so they can find their way around, especially in emergency situations
    2. Before or on moving day, take some time out to pinpoint the most important places and take a test drive with them
    3. Put together a “lost” kit for your student’s car that includes a paper map, reference and emergency numbers, a prepaid mobile phone (or phone card) and a prepaid gas card

    TeleNav is also offering a Back to School special for TeleNav GPS Navigator. From now through the end of September, parents can purchase a full year of the service for $89. Once activated, students can get GPS navigation directly from their cell phone. If you’re interested, visit our online store and use this promotion code: Back2School2009.

    Click here to access full results from our poll.

    TeleNav GPS Navigator In the Running for CTIA Award

    Friday, August 28th, 2009
    Are you a fan of TeleNav GPS Navigator? If so, here’s your chance to let the world know. TeleNav GPS Navigator is currently in contention for CTIA’s “Hottest Web Pick Award.” Share your love for TeleNav GPS Navigator by casting a vote.

    All you have to do is visit the TeleNav entry on the contest page and select “Mark as a Favorite” in the top right. It’s that simple. Voting ends October 5, so cast your vote now and be sure to tell your friends (that is of course, if they are fans of TeleNav GPS Navigator too).

    Thanks for your votes and we have fingers crossed that we’ll come out on top.