There's a new free mobile phone navigation feature available that enables you to find your way to your friends as well as locate bars, cinemas and other useful spots. Navigon 's Mobile Navigator 6 is a satellite navigation program, covering most of Europe, designed to work with any Java-enabled mobile phone.
While downloading it is free, you will need a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for it to work.
The standout feature of Mobile Navigator 6 is its ability to find a route to your friends. According to Navigon, the function relays your location via text which Mobile Navigator 6 then uses to find them.
Once installed, Mobile Navigator 6 downloads maps to your mobile phone, for which you're charged your standard data packet rate - handy if your data packet usage is part of your contract - though Navigon claims a 100-kilometre route requires a data volume of approximately 500KB.
While a lack of a GPS receiver on your mobile may prove an obstacle, Andreas Westhoff, chief sales officer of Navigon, believes GPS on mobile devices will soon be commonplace.
"Through Navigon, mobile navigation will become part of everyday life," says Westhoff. "In future more and more mobile devices, regardless of whether they are mobile phones or smartphones, will be equipped with navigation software and integrated GPS receivers as standard."
The Mobile Navigator 6 software can be downloaded to your PC at the Navigon website and can be transferred to your mobile from there using Bluetooth, USB or a memory card.
Navigon previously released a version of Mobile Navigator 6 for mobiles using the Symbian operating system. It's available for download on the Navigon site, starting at £70.
