Sat-Nav Heads For The Hills on Nokia Smartphones at Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show

location based services

Cambridge, UK – 16 March 2006 – Augmentra has unveiled ViewRanger 2, its new software for Nokia smartphones that provides mapping, navigation and information on location for walkers, mountain bikers, tourists and other outdoor activity enthusiasts. Augmentra will be showcasing ViewRanger 2 in partnership with Memory-Map, the leading UK outdoor recreation software supplier, at the Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show taking place at the NEC 17th-19th March 2006.

ViewRanger makes Ordnance Survey Landranger (1:50,000 scale) maps available on Nokia smartphones for the first time. OS LandRanger maps provide detailed topographic map information including hill contours, tourist information, camping and caravan sites, picnic areas and viewpoints, and Rights of Way information for England and Wales.

In addition to the familiar LandRanger maps, ViewRanger includes Augmentra’s Panoramic Viewpoint technology. This unique immersive map places the user in the centre of a panoramic 3D display where all the main landscape features are labelled. Hills are named, woodland and lakes identified, and villages, towns and prominent landmarks are shown. With Panoramic Viewpoint a user can quickly and easily identify all kinds of features in the landscape.

For users who want to share their outdoor experiences, ViewRanger’s Information Exchange enables users to publish photos and notes by associating them with locations and features in the landscape. Accessed through an online server over a mobile network internet connection, the Information Exchange opens up many possibilities for storing, sharing and accessing fun information or facts and records.

The recent boom in satellite navigation products has been concentrated on vehicle navigation leaving hill walkers and off-road navigators behind. Dedicated GPS receivers are typically expensive and offer only basic map display and limited connectivity. ViewRanger is the first solution to combine high quality topographic maps, off-road GPS navigation, and panoramic viewpoint maps in an integrated, simple to use application running on smartphones.

With a Bluetooth GPS receiver connected, ViewRanger transforms a Nokia smartphone into a fully featured trail navigation system. Features in ViewRanger 2 include:
Locate: Clear and detailed Ordnance Survey mapping
Identify: Unique annotated Panoramic Viewpoint display with thousands of features-of-interest including woodland, water features, towns, villages and hills.
Navigate: GPS tracking and trail route navigation
Exchange: Swap points of interest (POI), tracks, and routes with popular sat-nav and mapping software
Manage: Data manager for routes, tracks, waymarks, POI, maps and bookmarks
Connect: Attach photos, notes and information to features-of-interest in the landscape and share with other users

ViewRanger is available with UK map data. ViewRanger 2 will be available from www.viewranger.com in April.