New analysis from Frost & Sullivan 2010 North American Consumer Location-based Services (LBS) Market - The Wireless Carrier Opportunity, finds that the wireless carrier-generated segment of the North American consumer LBS market amounted to on-deck application software revenues of approximately $718 million in 2009 and forecasts this to reach $1.58 billion in 2015.

Some people just can’t take directions from anyone.  You may need your map directions from, your mother, your spouse or even yourself. 

Now you can get voice directions told to you in a personally chosen voice. The Ovi Blog calls Own Voice for Ovi Maps the “funniest addition” to Ovi Maps,

Users can personalize Ovi Maps voice guided drive navigation instructions with your own voice, or other users’, friends’ or family’s voices. This works with the latest version of Nokia’s Ovi Maps. If you don’t already have Ovi Maps v3.03 with free worldwide walk and drive navigation, download it at http://nokia.com/maps. The Flash examples shows an example from Mike who says, “Turn left, honey,” 

• Gas Savings - search for all nearby gas stations, and lists the results by both price and distance to current location.
• Traffic -  Cricket Navigator identifies potential traffic holdups on a user's route and then alerts the driver with information about the issue ahead. Cricket Navigator will then provide the driver with the option of a detour to assure a traffic snarl-free ride that will get them to their destination on time
• Local Entertainment- When a user is on the road in a new city, Cricket Navigator can help travelers explore the nightlife and local entertainment. Users can search by a specific event venue, look for nearby bars and restaurants, or view show times and read reviews of movies playing at local theaters.
• Hyper-Local Search - Cricket Navigator is pre-loaded with search features that let users avoid the hassles of the yellow pages and find any specific business or location. Users can search for anything from the nearest Cricket retail store, to the specific address of a friend or family member.

If your dog is getting lost and you have trouble finding him, you will soon be able to track him through a tracking collar.

Apisphere and AT&T will wirelessly connect a location-smart animal collar to help pet owners keep track of their pooches. The product uses GPS via a wireless SIM to follow canines and track locations then send it to a phone or computer.

The dog collar, embedded with a SIM, uses Apisphere's geo-mobility platform to transmit location-aware data across AT&T's wireless network directly to a pet owner's cell phone or personal computer.

Owners register their pets and important contacts as soon as they attach the collar. Owners may establish a geo-fence around the home where the pet can roam freely. Through the technology, owners can continuously track Fido's movements with the virtual geo-fence, or locate him on demand if he strays outside of his established parameters.

TeleNav, released data that shows all kinds of interesting preferences for TeleNav users. Walmart is the most popular business location.  Los Angelenos use GPS the most for navigation for routing and re-routing around traffic. The favorite food for searching is pizza.  Phoenix is the most cost conscious city.

Walmart topped the list as the number one U.S. business TeleNav customers sought, while using their GPS service. Starbucks took a close second, Target and Best Buy, took the third and fourth spots respectively, while Bank of America rounded out the top five most searched destinations in the country.

Los Angeles took the number one position as the city where most GPS searches occurred in 2009. The Dallas/Ft. Worth area followed in a close second, indicating that while things may be bigger in Texas, it doesn’t always mean they’re easier to find. Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, respectively, rounded out the top five U.S. cities where most GPS searches took place.

The A50 has a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display that incorporates a finger-friendly user interface. The QWERTY touchscreen keyboard makes it easy to send and receive messages, and predictive text helps customers type faster. It also comes with hardware features like 4GB internal storage, an expandable microSD card slot, and accelerometer so every screen can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode.

Beginning today on select devices, VZ Navigator 5.0 will  enhancements to the existing service that take advantage of location-based technology, including an updated, easy-to-use interface, improved functionality finding points of interest, and the ability to run multiple VZ Navigator functions simultaneously within a navigation session. 

The service is now integrated with Facebook, allowing users to keep up with their friends, family and social networks by updating their Facebook statuses directly through VZ Navigator, with the option to include and share their locations.  Customers can also use Verizon Wireless' Roadside Assistance service to send their location to a dispatcher so assistance may reach them more quickly. 

NAVTEQ, announced a new agreement which will allow NAVTEQ to more rapidly deploy innovative collection capabilities and accelerate the collection, creation and storage of 3D map data and visuals. NAVTEQ and Microsoft have agreed to work together to support technological advancements in this area, through which NAVTEQ will also provide Microsoft Corp. with 3D map data and visuals to power new mapping features.

Verizon  Family Locator now helps families find each other and stay safely connected. Family Locator, replaces Verizon  Wireless’ Chaperone service, can help find a family member’s location for peace of mind, safety, scheduling or other reasons. This service could means some parents wouldn’t have to ask “Where are you?,” instead they can get a map.

Services offered include: receiving arrival & departure updates for each family member, locating family members and creating scheduled location updates for each family member.

Portable Navigation Devices (PND) are losing ground as worldwide usage of GPS-equipped smar phones in the coming years, according to iSuppli Corp.

After several years of strong sales growth, PNDs will continue to lead the navigation market in 2009, with 114 million sets to be in use by the end of the year, compared to 57.8 million smart phones. However, by 2014, usage of navigation-enabled smart-phones will rise to 305 million units, exceeding the 128 million PNDs that will be around by then.

NAVTEQ offers Labor Day drivers five ways to avoid traffic for their last minute summer trips. Here are their suggestions:

1. Go against the grain - The worst Labor Day traffic will be to the most popular summer destinations in the area. If the city empties out as people go the lakes and beaches, think about taking advantage of relatively empty restaurants and attractions in town.
2. Shift your weekend - The worst holiday traffic tends to be on the Friday and Monday evenings, as travelers seek to get the most out of their long weekends. If possible, take one of these days off to travel and take advantage of less-congested roadways.
3. Go early or go late - Beat the worst traffic by driving in the early morning or late at night. Either way, make sure you're well-rested before heading out.
4. Drive with current maps - Want to hit the most popular destinations at the most popular times? You will need every tool at your disposal. Make sure your GPS has current maps, so you will be up-to-date on all available alternate routes. Typically GPS system maps need updating about once a year. Visit www.navteq.com/store to find out more.

5. Check traffic before and during your drive - Check NAVTEQ Traffic.com before you leave the house, to see current conditions and learn about obstacles that may cause traffic later. Hit a problem on the road? Here are some tips to help get around the traffic:

Google expanded its traffic layer to cover all U.S. highways and arterials when data is available. The maps show how fast traffic is moving.

Is done through “crowdsourcing,” using data from Google Map users and how fast they are traveling on roads.

When you choose to enable Google Maps with My Location, your phone sends anonymous bits of data back to Google describing how fast you’re moving. Google combines your speed with the speed of other phones on the road, across thousands of phones moving around a city at any given time, then they can get a pretty good picture of live traffic conditions.

They continuously combine this data and send it back to you for free in the Google Maps traffic layers.

GPS adoption in smartphones is being fueled by widespread consumer acceptance of portable navigation devices in Europe and the United States, and the increasing presence of mapping applications among mobile vendors such as Nokia, Apple and Blackberry.

Joanne Blight, Navigation Director at Strategy Analytics, said, "We forecast worldwide GPS smartphone shipments will grow a healthy 34 percent from 57 million units in 2008 to 77 million units in 2009. GPS smartphones, such as the Nokia N97 and Apple iPhone, are a high-growth segment that continues to expand even during the current, tough economic times."