NEW DELHI: TomTom, one of the world’s leading providers of navigation solutions to car drivers, announced that it was entering Indian market. The company would start selling three navigation devices — Via 100, Via 120, and Via 125 – from next month.
TomTom, which had spent last several years building maps of Indian streets, said the devices would use global positioning technology to provide navigation to drivers.
“There is no doubt the navigation market in India is growing briskly… with TomTom’s global quality standards and processes we can change the current regional landscape” said Jocelyn Vigreux, managing director of TomTom (India). The price for three TomTom devices will start from Rs 15,000.
Currently, MapMyIndia and Garmin are other prominent firms providing navigation services in India. Most smartphones and tablets – including Android devices, Nokia and iPhone — too offer navigation and maps to users by utilizing inbuilt GPS functions.
Vigreux claimed the company has specifically designed landmark navigation for India because nearly 70% of roads in the country don’t have any names. “With features like voice controls and land mark navigation, we are setting new standards for the Indian market,” said Vigreux.
The navigation industry in India is still in nascent stages, with people still preferring to roll down window and ask for directions. Last year IE Market Research Corporation predicted that by 2014 the navigation industry in India would be worth $158.4 million.
[Info from Times of India]