Candid conversations about using GPS and wireless technology for work and fun.
Posts tagged whereboutz
Ask HP Anything: HP Answers Your Questions
Nov 7th
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We received two questions this week for the “Ask HP (our CEO) Anything” column. See below for HP’s answers. Please keep them coming! As a reminder, you can ask your question below or just send me an email at marybethl (at) telenav.com.
Josh: HP, keeping in mind that the average person spends most of their time indoors, if GPS worked as reliably indoors as it does outdoors, how would Telenav take advantage of this, today? In 2 years?
HP: Josh, thanks for your question. There are a few ways that our services may leverage indoor location capabilities. For example, TeleNav Track allows for dispatchers to see mobile employees while they are out on the road – this means they can better route them to customers. This is all done through GPS since it is outdoors. But imagine if you were a very large enterprise organization that had multiple buildings on one large campus? If you managed the facilities for this campus, you might want to also know where your technicians were while they serviced the various buildings. Once they are indoors, it is harder to do this with GPS. Teams could also better find each other from level to level within buildings.
On a more consumer-level, indoor location technology could certainly be integrated with social networking services like our Whereboutz Facebook application. Say my daughter is shopping at the mall with her friends – now she could send them all a text message with her location (“at The Gap”) and not have to actually manually type in the location.
The possibilities are endless and we are certainly keeping on top of indoor location-aware technology so that we can leverage it as much as possible to provide even more value to our customers.
John R. Price: we keep hearing that telenav will be available for iPhone. i’m planning on changing all our company phones to iPhone (we’re all MAC users, including all my lab folks) since i have everybody on AT&T already but i’m holding off until i know about some the apps AND telenav. For me, telenav is critical. So, what’s the scoop?
HP: John, first I’d like to say thanks for being such a loyal customer and I’m thrilled that you are pleased with the service and find it useful for your business needs. If you have any feedback on features that you especially find useful or if you have ideas on how we can improve the service, please let us know. We are always open to the feedback.
Regarding the iPhone – everyone (myself included!) is excited to get GPS navigation on the iPhone but I am sure you can understand that, in general, we cannot announce anything until it’s available. Please keep an eye on our blog (we have an RSS feed if that’s easiest) for news of all our phone launches – we will notify customers here as soon as we can about when our service launches on new phones. If you use Twitter or Facebook, you can also get up-to-the minute TeleNav news alerts that way as well. There are links on this blog to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Thanks again for the questions and have a great weekend.
Using Whereboutz During the LA Earthquake
Aug 1st
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Having experienced three earthquakes already in my lifetime (two in Seattle and one in the Bay Area), I cringe every time I see a headline about an earthquake. It can be a really terrifying experience.
Thank goodness the Los Angeles earthquake this week was relatively mild and caused only minor damage. (Kudos to the Californians who seem to have learned the hard (and horrible) way about earthquake readiness.)
Naturally, though, after the earthquake, everyone got on their phones to call loved ones to make sure friends and family were safe and accounted for. Unfortunately, that surge of calls can have a major impact on phone systems and, indeed, there were outages associated with the LA quake.
The good news is that in this day and age, we have other quick (and sometimes more effective) resources for getting in touch with one another. I read on CNET that many people used Twitter, for example, to let friends and family know they were ok.
I really hope that people were also able to use our Facebook application, Whereboutz, which, in my opinion, is a perfect (and free) way to quickly let all of your Facebook buddies know with one entry where you are and what you are doing. You can even do it directly from your mobile phone (provided you have cell phone coverage) – which is quicker then calling everyone and also helps cut down on network congestion.
I mentioned using Whereboutz for something like this in a blog post when we initially launched it. I know I intend to use it this way if (God forbid) I experience another earthquake or natural disaster in Seattle. My sister is on Facebook, my husband is on Facebook, etc. It just makes sense as long as I have access to a computer or cell phone.
Whether it’s Whereboutz or another online social network, it’s worth exploring these options as a supplement to your natural disaster communication plan.
Anyone in LA or otherwise use Whereboutz for this purpose?
Finding Your Way to an Outdoor Summer Concert
Jul 7th
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Author – Nicole Verrett – Dedicated Sales Support Team Member
With summer in full swing, you may have noticed there are many events and outdoor activities to participate in throughout your city … picnics, BBQs, amusement parks and my personal favorite, summer concerts.
During the summer, there are usually an onslaught of concerts you can attend and some of them are even free. You’ll find that many cities have free outdoor concerts in popular gathering areas downtown. For example, the city of San Jose, near TeleNav HQ, hosts an annual summer series of free concerts called "Music in the Park."
I attended a concert this past 4th of July weekend, at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Ca. Although it was not a free concert, it was well worth the price to see the great musical legend Stevie Wonder live in concert for the first time. My family and I had a blast.
I am very familiar with the Bay Area so I knew how to get to the show. However, just in case I did forget a certain street that I needed to make a turn on, it was comforting to know that I could easily use TeleNav GPS Navigator to look up the address to the theater and arrive to my destination stress-free. I was also able to let all my friends know where I was using Whereboutz on Facebook.
What concerts will you be attending in your hometown this summer?
Looking Back at 2007 and Ahead at 2008
Jan 4th
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Author—H.P. Jin- President, CEO and Co-Founder
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As we launch into a new year, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the year behind us and share my thoughts on the opportunities for TeleNav and the industry in 2008.
2007 was a milestone year for us. We are now offering TeleNav GPS Navigator through approximately 80% of the wireless carriers in North America, including AT&T, Sprint, Alltel, T-Mobile, Bell Canada and Rogers. Additionally, we expanded significantly in key global markets including China, Europe and Latin America. During the year, we also launched our mobile enterprise application, TeleNav Track, with AT&T. We have now deployed this service with two of the major carriers in the US – Sprint and AT&T.
In addition to our core products (TeleNav GPS Navigator and TeleNav Track), we also launched two new products in 2007. One is called TeleNav Maps – it is a free, non-GPS, static mapping service for BlackBerry customers. And more recently, we launched Whereboutz – a social networking product integrated with Facebook. These new products are exciting because they allow us to explore new technology and business models. Whereboutz specifically opens up many new opportunities for GPS capabilities integrated with social networking applications.
Last, but certainly not least, we continued to maintain our focus on improving customer support so that TeleNav customers enjoy their experience using our products and working with our team members. Part of this focus on customer service included launching this blog which we hope will offer an easy and enjoyable way for our customers to learn more about the industry and offer suggestions to us for improving our products and services.
2008 will be even more exciting than 2007. With more and more advanced GPS phones (tens of millions) coming to the market, and awareness of GPS capabilities on mobile phones increasing, there will be significantly more people using mobile GPS solutions such as TeleNav GPS Navigator, TeleNav Track or Whereboutz. Tens of millions of users will incorporate GPS services into their daily lives.
We feel great that what we do brings significant positive impact to so many users globally. We are proud that we help our customers be more productive, feel less stressed and have more fun while they are on the move.
I wish all of you a healthy and prosperous 2008!
Win Prizes with TeleNav and Your Favorite Blog!
Dec 12th
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Author—Sal Dhanani – Co-Founder and Sr. Director of Marketing
Looking for something to treat yourself with this month while you’re online shopping for others? TeleNav has partnered up with a few of our favorite blogs this week to run contests with great prizes … just in time for the holidays. So give your credit card a break for a few minutes and try your luck!
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Mashable would like your best ideas on how you can use our new Facebook application called Whereboutz. Wondering where your friends are and what they are doing? Eager to tell all your friends about where to find a great holiday sale? The prize: Either 3 months of free TeleNav GPS Navigator service or a Whereboutz-compatible Sprint phone (your choice!). Deadline to submit: Dec. 19th
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CrunchGear is looking for your worst holiday travel stories. Ever experience something straight out of a National Lampoon movie? The prize: The two best stories will receive a new BlackBerry 8310 (thanks to AT&T!) and 3 months of free TeleNav GPS Navigator service. Deadline to submit: Dec. 17th
- AllBlackBerry.com wants to know how you might be able to use TeleNav GPS Navigator to help you navigate the holidays this year. Did you get lost getting to Grandma’s house last year? Can’t find the post office to mail all your packages? The prize: The two best stories will win 3 months of free TeleNav GPS Navigator service. Deadline to submit: Dec. 14th
Good luck! I can’t wait to read all of your submissions!
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