SatGuide launches India’s 1st Voice based Navigation Service - LCU (Lost? Need Directions? Call us!)

• SatNav files patent for the offering
• Service to be available to 365mn cellphone users across the country

Hyderabad, 25th February, 2009 – Pioneers of GPS Technology in India, SatNav Technologies, is set to enhance its coverage of the fast growing Indian consumer market by launching India’s 1st Voice based Navigation Directions service LCU (Lost? Need Directions? Call Us!), the latest variant of its popular GPS navigation product, SatGuide. SatNav has filed a patent for LCU which is an integrated solution to the yellow pages and directory services. The service is available from 6:30am - 11:30pm throughout the week. LCU is presently available in Andhra Pradesh and will cover the entire country over by March 2009.

The different scenarios for which people can use these services are to find out places within the city, reach from one state to another and to know the quickest route to a particular destination. People can use this service to find their way from one destination to another if they are lost. LCU can be of big help to people looking for resources within their own vicinity like hospitals, banks, ATMs, restaurants etc.

The LCU service can be accessed as a short code by mobile users. On dialing the code the customer gets connected to a live agent who will provide the customer with the required information on a point of interest such as an ATM, restaurant, hospitals, schools, corporate, amongst others or provide the shortest possible route to reach their destination after knowing their current and final locations. This information can be noted down by the caller in the phone call itself, or he can get it as an SMS which can be referred to during the journey.

To begin with Reliance customers can avail the service through the short code 56694. SatNav is in discussions with other operators to include this value added service in their portfolio and thereby offer a huge value to their end customers. The agents who provide directions are multilingual and can assist the customers in English, Hindi and Telugu. As other states are included in the service, English and Hindi would be supplemented by the local language of the particular state.

Commenting on the launch Mr. Amit Prasad, CEO & Founder MD, SatNav Technologies said, “The launch of the LCU marks the beginning of a new phase of value additions aimed at the 300mn phone users in the country, to propagate the use of GPS, Navigation and Map applications in a very a cost effective manner. We are using technology to simplify our customer’s lives with a much needed solution – be it for finding the right directions, locating a place of interest closest to their current position, getting to a new place or simply for providing for address and contact details.”

The maps for this service are developed by SatGuide, which include detailed maps of 200+ cities and more than 15 lakh destinations (Points of Interest or POIs) for customers to choose from. In addition over 10 lakh kms of roads have been digitized and 77,000 towns and villages can be reached through the service. The map is constantly being enhanced and on the anvil are plans to grow to 30 lakh destinations, 500 cities and ultimately the 6 lakh villages across the country. The information is divided into 44 prominent categories such as ATMs, Banks, Restaurants, Hotels, Offices, Parks, Historical Places etc, so getting to any destination is now a breeze using SatNav’s LCU SatGuide service!

About SatNav Technologies:

Incorporated on January 9, 2004, SatNav Technologies is an IT Products company that is a pioneer in Navigation, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Business Infrastructure Management Solution (BIMS) related products. SatNav’s products include an immensely popular GPS Navigation Product SatGuide available at hundreds of stores all over the country including leading retailers like Croma, EZone, Reliance, ABRL, Staples among others - that is helping customers “Never Get Lost!” , variants include Navigation solutions for dedication navigation devices, PDAs, Phones, Laptops, Desktops, SatGuide Logger, among others. SatGuide is bundled with all Windows phones from HP, i-mate, ASUS and HTC, resulting in a literal 100% market share for the company in this space. Also in SatNav portfolio are unique products; a Business Infrastructure Management System, a-mantra; and an online directions portal Roadsofindia.com, among others.