Free service to launch in 2012; developer testing sought

TeleNav, location-based service provider, on Wednesday announced an HTML5 browser-based navigation service for mobile devices that will give users the ability to receive free, voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions when using an app or visiting a website for a restaurant or other destination.

The service will launch in early 2012, a TeleNav spokeswoman said via email, but TeleNav is asking developers to test the service now by applying at the Telenav website.

Developers will be able to add one line of code into a mobile app or website to offer customers free, turn-by-turn navigation, which will be available to anyone who has an HTML5-enabled phone or smartphone, she explained.

In one example, a developer with a hotel reservation app or website could allow customers to click on the hotel's address from within the app or site and get voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions to the hotel. "Customers will not need to be TeleNav customers or even download an additional app," the spokeswoman said in an email. To use the service, customers won't need to leave the app or site to go to a mapping service such as Google Maps, she added.

The voice-guided navigation will also feature automatic re-routing if a driver misses a turn, TeleNav said.