Location: Wireless Navigation: Paths to Success

Navigation: Where does itbelong?

Traditionally, wireless operators as well as application service providers (like Wayfinder™ and ALK™) have provided wireless navigation services for a monthly subscription fee. The market place is now changing with the entry of new players: Internet properties and device OEMs.

Google® maps for mobile now come with GPS integration allowing you to get free step-by-step directions to your destination. As long as you pay the data charges, you can now turn your GPS phone (not all phones are supported) into a navigation device. And then there are the device OEMs. Nokia® has recently introduced navigation services (branded smart2go™ navigation) with free downloadable maps and a turn-by-turn navigation subscription service.

Nokia expects to include GPS and pre-bundled smart2go application in most of their phones in the coming years thereby making adoption of navigation a lot easier. Similarly, Motorola® has announced the launch of MOTONAV™ turn-by-turn navigation system with Bluetooth®-GPS accessory (figure 3)

Navigating to the future: fastest route to success
It is hopefully clear from the above discussion that navigation is and will be a key driver of LBS services going forward. Navigation delivers value to the customer (as seen in the success of PNDs) and hence users are willing to pay to get a good service. However, the service provider needs to get a few things right to ensure success:

Business model
Pricing
Device
User experience
Technology

We will discuss briefly each of the above items to see what choices are available and what makes sense for the service provider.

Getting the business model right

A number of different approaches can be followed for offering navigation. These include:

Onboard navigation

In this model, user buys application and content which is loaded onto the mobile phone; no connection to the network is needed for the content (figure 4). Content is either loaded onto a memory card directly or pre-bundled with the phone and is used with a local application.

This is similar to PND model. Advantages with this deployment model include:

No dependency on network availability / bandwidth
No data charges to be paid to operator/service provider
No network delays resulting in improved user experience
A number of companies including operators, GPS device OEMs as well as ASPs offer onboard navigation solutions. Key drawbacks of this model are:
Significant storage space needed on the mobile phone – this brings down the available storage space for other content like music & video
High upfront costs to be paid. This model neither allows a casual user to ‘try out’ for a few months nor is it convenient where user wants to use navigation infrequently. For example, if a user is traveling to a new country, she will have to buy a map for that country, though she wouldn’t need the map after the trip.
Content not up-to-date – Updates to maps are infrequent and may need additional fees to be paid by the user for download of new maps
Real-time data not available – real-time traffic information/weather updates and such may not be available in an off-board navigation system

Off board navigation
In this model, content is available on the network; a thin client runs on the mobile phone with content being downloaded real time on an as-needed basis (figure 5).

Figure 3. Motorola T815

A mobile operator or an ASP hosts the content server and provides it on a subscription basis. Examples include Verizon™ VZ Navigator™ or SK Telecom™’s NateDrive™ – these services may also allow user to subscribe only for a day. Advantages with this deployment model include:

Lower upfront fees: user needs to pay only based on usage
Limited storage requirement: As the content is stored off-line, there is no storage space requirement on the phone thereby freeing up the memory card/phone memory for other content
Regular map updates: Maps/content can be updated as and when it becomes available and hence user always gets the latest content
Real-time updates: Additional information like traffic reports, weather conditions and such can be provided as well
Availability of worldwide maps: this offers the potential to provide navigation service worldwide as there is no limit of storage capacity on the server side

The key issues with this approach are:

High/unpredictable data costs: especially, if it is not provided as fixed subscription-fee/month service
Possibly degraded user experience if network bandwidths are poor / not available

Hybrid navigation
This uses a combination of offline (cached) and online (first-time content and real-time traffic info) content. In this deployment model, content is initially downloaded from the network (with time stamp) and cached locally – so all subsequent accesses to the same map content is done locally and periodic updates are done from the network if new content becomes available. In addition, real-time information like traffic info and such are provided over-the-air.

This solution provides best of both worlds, giving both flexibility (of real-time updates, minimum storage space) as well as good user experience (local cache, minimum data charges). A number of companies are looking to adopt this model. Independent of the type of navigation offered to customer, it is important to ensure that the service works well from a user point of view.

Navigation service requires co-ordination across multiple players in the value chain – service provider, application provider, content provider, LBS platform provider (in some cases), Infrastructure/A-GPS provider and the device vendor. The appropriate revenue sharing model has to be worked out between the different players as well as smooth integration is needed to provide a good user-experience.

Getting the pricing right
It is important get the pricing model right to ensure uptake of the service while ensuring that the service is profitable. A number of pricing models have been experimented with by different operators:

Per-month flat-rate subscription pricing:
Pay-as-you-go subscription pricing:
Per month charge + data charges
Additional charges for premium content like business finder or traffic info
Limited usage subscription pricing (based on routes, number of days/month , limited geography-based or limited feature support)
Free Navigation service with advertisements

Additional incentivization/marketing schemes may include:

Free trial navigation service for limited period to incentivize users to try out the service
Free maps & local search , but navigation at additional cost

Independent of the model chosen, it is very important to educate the customer on the expected cost for the service and set expectations appropriately and not let customer have a bill-shock post facto. There is no single right model – the service provider can possibly offer a bouquet of different models from which the customer can choose from.

Figure 4. On board navigation

Getting the device right
One of the key constraints, especially in a GSM market like India has been the lack of GPS devices for providing navigation. There are typically two ways in which navigation services are provided: Integrated GPS phone: A wide number of GSM handsets are available with integrated GPS. A number of new handsets have been introduced over the past few months that have integrated GPS capability including Blackberry® 8800, HTC™ Artemis, Asus™ P526 and Mitac™ A501 based on the SiRFStarIII GPS. In addition, top-tier handset vendors have announced their intentions to bring out GPS based phones.

Figure 5. Off board navigation

This gives a bouquet of handsets for operators to choose from, though most of the handsets today are in the smart-phone category. It is soon expected that GPS will become a common feature even in the mid-tier handsets. Operators like Sprint Nextel, SK Telecom, Orange and Verizon have launched navigation services based on integrated GPS handsets.
External GPS accessory: Given the huge popularity of Bluetooth handsets, one additional option is to have an external GPS-Bluetooth accessory providing GPS with the navigation software on the handset. This provides the additional advantage of enabling legacy (Bluetooth) handsets. This would allow any Bluetooth phone (with appropriate software) to act as a navigation device.

Getting the user experience right
If the navigation service is expected to be offered on a multitude of devices, complete user-level testing needs to be done to ensure right application deployment – for eg., on a small screen device, limited navigation service with just arrows is sufficient and easier to see, while on a large screen device user would expect to view maps with directions. Specific usage scenarios need to be kept in mind

How does the user listen to navigation directions while on a call?
How long does re-routing and download of map take if user takes an incorrect turn?
Unlike PNDs, cell phones will more often be used even while walking. How good would be the user experience and accuracy in pedestrian case?
How to conserve power in case of pedestrian navigation - as the display and navigation application may have high power consumption, thereby bringing down usable cell phone power. Should a separate battery be considered for navigation?
Should additional utilities like finding nearest WiFi access point be made available?
Is the speaker phone good for voice directions and if not, are fonts on screen large enough to glance quickly?
How to quickly search for specific points-of-interest without scrolling endlessly?
Tight integration with the platform can make LBS usage intuitive. Applications like calendar (help me navigate-to-the appointment), address book (navigate to where Joe Smith is) or
Instant Messenger (is my buddy nearby for quick cup of coffee) can make integrate location intuitively making the user experience pleasurable.

Getting the technology right
Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF) has been the biggest complaint received by PND vendors. End users do not understand satellite blockage issues or TTFF – they expect the service to work everywhere and instantly. No user wants to wait for a few minutes before she can start using the service.

In addition, service provider must ensure that the device/accessory for navigation performs well at all places under all conditions. End user does not like to see erratic navigation behavior in the middle of down-town where it is most needed. Finding and providing the right GPS technology for eg.

GPS chipset,
assisted-GPS setup and software enhancements like extended ephemeris can make or break the user experience. Part of the success and growth of the PND (Portable Navigation Device) industry is owing to good GPS devices (for instance, based on SiRFStarIII architecture) that work well enough for the mass-consumers.

So, where do we go from here?
Navigation is evolving in interesting ways from 3D maps to user-shared maps to advertisement based navigation services. With always-on connectivity on the mobile phone (unlike PNDs), navigation applications and deployments are moving beyond plain-vanilla navigation towards the Web 2.0 model of user-generated content, community involvement and such. Users could not only access Points-Of-Interest (POIs) and directions, but could also update the content with their own (public or private) POIs, correct one-way street information and so on.

Applications are now blending user ratings, reviews & comments about specific locations (like restaurants & tourist locations) with navigation. This brings in innovative navigation capabilities like searching for the **best** Indian restaurant in town or navigate to the restaurant that serves the best wine. A number of such applications are available on SiRF’s SiRFstudio™ location platform which enables application developers to easily and quickly embed user location as an integral part of their application. Advertising model is another disruptor in navigation services space. Location based search, combined with navigation allows the advertisers to target the right audience, at the right time, at the right location.

For instance, a hungry user searching for the nearest restaurant at lunch time will naturally be a good target for an advertisement for a local diner. With advertising, one can visualize navigation services being provided completely free in the not-so-far future With the huge popularity of portable navigation, the market is ready for cell phone based navigation. Service providers must take this opportunity to focus on delivering navigation with the right business models.

It is also very important for the service providers to put their marketing dollars behind the service to ensure consumer awareness. Above all, right technology & devices must be chosen to ensure a smooth and memorable user experience.