NAVTEQ Announces Finalists for 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge(R) in India Region

CHICAGO, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world, announced today the finalists of the India region of the 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge. Twelve applications have been selected to advance to final judging, including location-aware applications with the latest features in fitness and tracking services, enterprise solutions, location-based advertising and mobile couponing, social networking, navigation, search and news services.

This year marks the first Global LBS Challenge dedicated to the India region in the seven-year history of the program, reflecting the strong interest in LBS in India, as well as the number of talented developers and NAVTEQ's presence in the region.  The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday, April 29 in Gurgaon (New Delhi), India. The finalists for the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in the India region are:

• Ariose Software Pvt. Ltd. (http://www.ariosesoftware.com): Hobby Lobby is a social networking application that brings together individuals with similar hobbies and interests in a given location.
• Ariose Software Pvt. Ltd. (http://www.ariosesoftware.com): mSurvey is an enterprise field survey application that allows users to gather information (text, image, video, voice) in a structured manner, tagged with location-specific metadata.
• BIZense Technologies (www.bizense.com): mCouponStore is a mobile coupon store application to help you find coupons based on your location and preferences.
• Eterno Infotech Pvt. Ltd. (http://www.eternoinfotech.com): NewsHunt-Local incorporates location-based advertising with information from India's most popular mobile news services, all in local languages.
• Genesys International Corp. Ltd. (www.igenesys.com): GenesysGolf is a solution for GPS-enabled smartphones that eliminates the need for golfers to separately carry a range finder device.
• HotDeals: HotDeals is a mobile-based service that pushes deals to the user based on a specified wish list and current location.
• Its4Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (http://www.its4solutions.com): Marathon Master is a mobile application that provides live statistical feedback to help marathon runners improve their performance while training and while running the marathon.
• Max Mobility Pvt. Ltd. (www.maxmobility.in): Child Tracker is a GPS and RFID-based bus tracking and child safety solution for parents.
• Mega Car Pool Pvt. Ltd. (www.megacarpool.com): Mega Carpool enables carpooling by matching riders with nearby vehicles going to the same destination.
• Ninad Majmudar (www.ninadmajmudar.com): LooLoca is a powerful, location-based community application developed for the Android™ OS that helps you locate loos (restrooms/washrooms) around you.
• Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. (http://www.optimystix.tv/): Taxi Seeker is an application that allows users to log on and search for the closest available taxi.
• Why2Wait (www.why2wait.com): Why2Wait allows users to trace the route and arrival time of buses and the availability of cabs in their vicinity through their mobile phones.

The NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is a worldwide developer competition conducted by NAVTEQ Network for Developers™ (NN4D), NAVTEQ's global community and support program for location-based solution (LBS) developers and business partners. Every year NN4D invites developers to build and submit original, pre-commercialized applications using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ® maps.

"We are thrilled to bring the Global LBS Challenge to the India region, where the pool of talented developers and the growth potential of location-based services are both tremendous," commented Marc Naddell, vice president, partner and developer programs, NAVTEQ. "By hosting the Global LBS Challenge in India, NAVTEQ expands the unique opportunities that this remarkable program offers to a greater number of location-based developers worldwide."

Final judging will take place on Thursday, April 29 at the Trident, Gurgaon Hotel outside New Delhi.

Visit www.LBSChallenge.com for information on the other four regions in this year's competition: Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA), North America, South America and Asia-Pacific (APAC).

Notes to Editors

Prizes

NAVTEQ and sponsoring companies are offering prizes that contribute to a global prize pool of over $10 million dollars US in cash, tool and data licenses, and handsets, making the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge one of the industry's most rewarding developer competitions. In addition, "Best of" recognition awards will be awarded in various categories to recognize achievements in particular areas.

Sponsors

Bing Maps, deCarta, DeviceAnywhere, DigitalGlobe, HTC, Intel Moblin, RIM, Samsung and Tanla globally sponsor the 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge. Imagination Technologies and Mobile Distillery are global award sponsors, with The Code Project, GPS Business News and MundoGeo serving as media sponsors.

Awards Ceremony

The Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 29 at an invite-only event at the Trident, Gurgaon Hotel, 443 Udyog Vihar, Phase V, Gurgaon, 122 016, India. Journalists interested in attending should contact Shaw Wun Lim at [email protected].

About the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge®

First launched in 2003, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is a worldwide competition conducted by NAVTEQ Network for Developers™ (NN4D), daring application developers around the world to build innovative location-based services (LBS) using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ® maps. Integrating the accuracy and richness of NAVTEQ digital map data and LBS content facilitates the timely evolution of the next wave of location-aware applications. The Global LBS Challenge has become the premier event in the LBS industry for shining the spotlight on global LBS innovation and opportunity. Over 32% of the finalists from the past six years have gone on to receive venture capital funding or launch commercially-distributed applications. For more information on this year's competition, go to www.LBSChallenge.com.

About NAVTEQ Network for Developers™

NAVTEQ Network for Developers (NN4D) is a dynamic web portal and global community that provides developers and business partners with the technical and business support needed to build, showcase and launch the most innovative location-enabled solutions. NN4D includes resources such as mapping APIs, LBS content, point of interest data and routing information as well as geospatial platforms and tools from NAVTEQ and its partners. Members can rely on NN4D when creating GPS-based applications for the web, mobile phones, GIS and portable navigation devices that employ traffic, navigation, location content and location-based advertising for enterprise and consumer use. Connect with the people, tools and resources you need to build and market your location-enabled products by joining today at www.NN4D.com/joindevelopers.

About NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ is the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data that enables navigation and location-based platforms around the world. NAVTEQ supplies comprehensive digital map information to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 4600 employees located in 203 offices in 45 countries.

NAVTEQ, NAVTEQ Network for Developers and Global LBS Challenge are trademarks of NAVTEQ in the U.S. and other countries. All rights reserved.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060313/NAVTEQLOGO)

SOURCE NAVTEQ