Canadians get all the fun stuff: Socialized healthcare, clean air, provinces and territories instead of states. And now, along with getting the BlackBerry 8830 smartphone, they’ll be getting GPS Nav from Bell, powered by TeleNav GPS.
We just so happen to be giving away free service right now if you’d like to test out the wonders of TeleNav’s GPS service on your Blackberry. TeleNav is donating a Bluetooth GPS receiver and 3 months of TeleNav service for two lucky readers.
Here’s how to win: Tell us your most creative idea for using the new “share my location” features (hit the jump to read more about the feature). Maybe a nice game of tag? Perhaps using it to organize a revolution of some sort? Whatever you think of, e-mail it to us at: contest at crunchgear dot com. Use the subject line SHARE YOUR LOCATION. The top two entries win the prize. We’re extending the contest to MONDAY, JULY 2, to give everyone some more time to enter.
The service is available for select handsets and devices from all the major carriers. Check here to see if yours is supported. Hit the jump to read the full details on the new features.
Many thanks to TeleNav!
Voice and on-screen turn-by-turn driving directions – Customers type in or use voice recognition to call in destinations, and TeleNav GPS Navigator computes the routes. While driving, users get up-to-the minute guidance, including street names, and will automatically be re-routed if a turn is missed.
“My TeleNav” Web site access – It is easy to preplan trips, save addresses and manage your account – all online at www.telenav.com. Subscribers can save locations in their “My Favorites” folder and they will automatically download on their phone next time they launch TeleNav GPS Navigator.
Location sharing* – Now users have the ability to send their current location or the location of a nearby business to one friend or many friends all at once. This information can be sent from a mobile phone or from the “My TeleNav” account. TeleNav GPS Navigator users can quickly navigate to locations they receive using the service’s turn-by-turn directions. Mobile users not subscribing to TeleNav GPS Navigator will receive a link to view a map and static directions on their phone.
Biz Finder (local search) – Customers can look up more than 10 million businesses and services, including ATMs, restaurants, hotels, Wi-Fi hotspots and gas stations, and easily navigate to them with the click of a button.
Business reviews and ratings* – Before they head to a restaurant or make a reservation at a hotel, users can now see how it was rated and reviewed by other people. Users can sort by highest to lowest rating to help them make a decision, or view all of the search results on a map. TeleNav GPS Navigator also allows customers to rate restaurants themselves – directly from a mobile phone.
Real-time traffic alerts and one-click rerouting –TeleNav GPS Navigator monitors each specific route and will proactively search every five minutes for traffic congestion or incidents. Customers will be alerted, both audibly and on-screen, and can choose to find a faster route to their location by pressing just one button.
Fuel Finder – TeleNav GPS Navigator includes updated gas prices for local gas stations, and provides driving directions to the station with the lowest gas prices. Now, with just one click, friends and colleagues can share locations of these stations with each other as well.*
Full-color 3D moving maps – Just like an in-car navigation system, the 3D maps turn, move and stop along with the driver, while also displaying a realistic image of the streets the driver is approaching and passing. Users can also pan and zoom around the map to view surrounding streets.
Spot Marker – Users can mark waypoints to help find their way back to a location or to record points of interest.
Pedestrian Mode –TeleNav GPS Navigator can also be used while walking, to help guide customers through crowded downtown streets or back to a parked car.
My Favorites – Customers can save as many addresses as needed for easy access and directions later.