Garmin Enhances Garmin Mobile Features GPS Lodge.com

location based services

Garmin announced new features and content for select mobile phones equipped with Garmin Mobile -- a subscription-based, feature-rich application delivering maps, directions and turn-by-turn navigation on mobile phones. The new services are available now at no additional cost to customers. They namely added hotel info and content to the Garmin Mobile Interface. Mobile Phone services or Location Based Services (LBS) are going to be big this year, and Garmin is doing their best to make sure that they, as leaders in the GPS world, are part of that upswing.
"Adding Garmin Mobile to cell phones transforms the phone into a high-end personal navigation device," said Charles Morse, Garmin's director of mobile and PND marketing. "Customers who have experienced Garmin Mobile know that it simplifies travel at home and afar. Plus, it's one of the most affordable ways to enjoy the benefits of GPS navigation with real-time traffic info, fuel prices, weather forecasts and hotel prices."
Hotel information and discounted room rates are the newest content additions to Garmin Mobile. From the smallest inns to the world's largest resorts, Garmin Mobile customers can use their phone to search and access information for over 70,000 hotels. Hotel information is provided by Hotels.com and includes the hotel's discounted room rate, ranking, description, amenities and location. Once a customer selects a hotel on the phone, they can immediately call Hotels.com who makes the reservation at the reduced room rate. Garmin Mobile users can then receive turn-by-turn directions to the property with a few keystrokes. In addition, Garmin Mobile still provides numerous other dynamic content features -- weather conditions and forecasts, real-time fuel prices and traffic at no additional cost to the subscriber.
Garmin Mobile also offers several new customizable options such as 3D mapping, "find along route" and route preferences. The 3D navigation perspective allows a user to choose between a 3D map representation that displays an uncluttered view of the road ahead or the more traditional "birds eye" view. The "find along route" option is a timesaving feature that makes it easy to find destinations along the current route such as restaurants, hotels, ATMs, and gas stations. For additional customization and route optimization, users can select how they are traveling -- car, bicycle, taxi, foot and more -- and Garmin Mobile will calculate the most efficient route based upon the mode of transportation.
Garmin Mobile includes highly detailed street maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The database features nearly six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. Map data is provided by NAVTEQ(TM) -- a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Garmin Mobile maps are server-based and give consumers the most recent mapping available.
Customers have unlimited access to all Garmin Mobile content -- which includes fuel prices, weather conditions and forecasts, traffic content and hotel information -- for just $9.99 per month. Garmin Mobile is currently available on select Sprint and Nextel mobile phones. Some Garmin Mobile features may vary based on the phone's capabilities. For more information on Garmin Mobile, visit http://mobile.garmin.com.
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