Nextel subscribers may soon use their cell phones as divining rods to
find cheap gas.
Televigation, a California-based provider of location-based
services for mobile users, has developed a “fuel finder” feature for
its TeleNav service that directs drivers to the least expensive gas station in
an area.
The service, which will become available later this month to Nextel
Communications Inc. subscribers with global positioning system-enabled phones,
automatically checks local gas prices within five miles of a user’s location by
searching the previous day’s credit-card records. TeleNav’s voice-automated
driving cues then direct the driver to the cheapest pumps around.
“As
fuel prices reach the highest the country has seen in quite some time, Americans
are constantly searching for ways to save money and locate affordable
gasoline,” said Salman Dhanani, senior director of marketing at
Televigation. “TeleNav’s fuel finder is a great tool to combat high gas
prices, especially considering the amount that people travel during the summer
season.”
If necessary, TeleNav can search beyond the five-mile radius,
and users can customize a search to look for specific brand names. Nextel users
who don’t have GPS-ready phones can buy a $70 receiver to use the
service.
Initially, the service will be free to TeleNav subscribers, who can
use TeleNav up to 10 times per month to get driving directions, pinpoint the
locations of friends who have the service, or check out color maps. The
GPS-based service is similar to some applications available from integrated
navigational services found onboard luxury vehicles.
Other carriers have been
reticent to offer location-based services because of their demands on
infrastructure and the uncertainty of the market, said Dhanani. But he believes
TeleNav’s success has caught the eye of some of the other major wireless
companies.
“(Location-based services) have been something that have been
talked about for quite some time-they were supposed to happen in 2001,”
Dhanani said. “They’re finally here now, and things are happening.
TeleNav’s been very successful-we’re seeing excellent customer adoption.”
