TORONTO, Canada - GPS software manufacturer Northport Systems, Inc., has launched Fugawi Touratel, a new cell phone-based outdoor navigation software and interactive web site, for use in the United States.
Designed to enhance outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, fishing, hunting and more, Fugawi Touratel provides exceptional map detail on a wide variety of mobile phone handsets as well as the complimentary touratel.com website.
A first in GPS software solutions for the outdoor recreation market, Fugawi Touratel is a Web 2.0-based cell phone navigation software product that delivers high-resolution US Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps, air photos and urban photos to a wide variety of cell phone models within the USA. The service costs $2.99 a month.
“We are pleased to offer USGS topographic maps to the public at no charge though our new web resource, touratel.com,” said Robin Martel, president of Northport Systems. “Our Fugawi Touratel Web 2.0 backend also allows us to address tremendous consumer demand for mobile navigation technology by delivering outdoor GPS applications to a much wider variety of existing phones which could not previously be used for navigation.”
In addition, users receive a host of other useful third-party location based applications, such as detailed streets maps of the USA, all for one low monthly fee. Fugawi Touratel is currently compatible with many models from Motorola, Samsung, Sanyo and LG, on the Sprint, Alltel and Boost networks with more networks and cell phone models to be added shortly. Because Fugawi Touratel utilizes the cellular network-derived “Assisted GPS” location, the supported phones do not require a specific-use internal or Bluetooth connected GPS.
Also, due to its unique Web 2.0 architecture, the user does not need to download and install client software - the entire Fugawi Touratel application works through the internet connection. Users will benefit from added map content and ongoing product development instantaneously, without the need to download updates or apply patches.
The touratel.com website is a free service enabling users to view and print copies of high quality maps. The site contains all of the USGS topographic maps for the USA, including Hawaii and Alaska, at all available scales, including 1:24,000, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000. Also available through the intuitive tab-based interface are high quality air photos and Google™ maps so the user can review their area of interest utilizing several different map sources. Users can zoom in to any part of the USA and print paper copies to take with them. From the website, users can also check the compatibility of their specific cell phone and, if they wish, sign up and immediately start navigating with the USGS topographic maps on their handset.
“Our Touratel web services have been designed from the ground up to allow for rapid development of richer feature sets and growth into new applications and markets”, continues Martel. “We will add new map content and additional services in early 2008.”
Availability
For more information on Fugawi Touratel, or to learn more about Northport Systems and its entire product line, please contact (416) 920-9300, or visit www.touratel.com. A regularly updated list of compatible carriers and handsets can also be found on the new touratel.com website.
About Northport Systems, Inc.:
Established in 1995 in Toronto, Canada, Northport Systems, Inc. now supplies PC, PDA and Web 2.0-based navigation and mapping software products to over 130 countries under the Fugawi brand. Northport enjoys a worldwide reputation as a leader in GPS mapping software and innovative GPS applications for the outdoor recreation, marine, tracking and military markets. www.fugawi.com and www.touratel.com