SAN JOSE, California, September 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Beta Launch now, With Worldwide Product Release Slated for October 2009

deCarta, the leading supplier of software and services for the Location-Based Services (LBS) industry, today announced the launch of its beta program supporting OpenStreetMap (OSM) data.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090917/360005a )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090917/360005b )

The beta program makes the OSM content available for selected cities around the world. A product release that will support the complete coverage of OSM is scheduled for October 2009.

In keeping with the spirit of the OpenStreetMap community, OSM data in deCarta format will be free of charge. deCarta plans to make the product available for both server and client-side solutions to its customers .This includes self hosted solutions using deCarta's Drill Down Server, deCarta's Hosted Web Services, Personal Navigation Devices, and Mobile Phones. Developers will also be able to quickly prototype and demonstrate location-enabled applications using OSM content through deCarta's Developer Zone available to developers at http://www.decarta.com.

The initial product release is aimed at developers who want to develop the following types of applications:

    - Map display
    - Vehicle tracking
    - High-level routing
    - Pedestrian navigation

Future releases will include support for local search and turn-by-turn navigation based on availability and applicability of the OSM content. In addition, deCarta will expand geographic coverage and depth of features as the OSM data continues to expand and mature.

OSM has seen explosive growth since its launch in 2004. According to the information available on the statistical information page of OSM's website, within just the last 12-month period the number of registered users has more than tripled from approximately 50,000 to over 160,000. In the same period the total number of GPS track points uploaded by the users also grew to just over a million. The data has over 23 million kilometers of road length making it the largest public domain mapping database.

deCarta's OEM platform technology has powered some of the world's largest LBS internet and mobile services - particularly where broad and varied geographic coverage has been necessary. deCarta's customers are able to customize and brand their own map styles and services utilizing deCarta's development tools and data architecture; and are able to write their application once - even though multiple map content sources may be being used simultaneously.

"We are very pleased to be launching full support for OSM data in response to customer and market interest" said J. Kim Fennell, President and CEO of deCarta. "We have embraced the OSM concept for some time and feel that it can add to the richness of content in the marketplace. deCarta has always worked with the broadest assortment of content providers around the world and so we look forward to making our market-leading LBS platform and development tools available to the growing community of OSM users."

Parties interested in getting access to OSM content in deCarta's format can contact us at sales@decarta.com.

http://www.decarta.com

http://www.openstreetmap.org

All companies and products referenced in this press release are the trademarks of their respective owners. (c) 2009 deCarta, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE deCarta

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