msmobiles.com - Cellular News - m-spatial rolls out MapWay applications on portals of major operators: Vodafone Live, O2 Active and Orange World

m-spatial rolls out MapWay applications on portals of major operators: Vodafone Live, O2 Active and Orange World
May 06, 2004;
Forget Handango! Getting your application to mobile portals of major cellular operators/carriers is much more important...

M-SPATIAL ROLLS OUT NEW MAPWAY APPLICATIONS ON VODAFONE LIVE!, O2 ACTIVE AND ORANGE WORLD

M-SPATIAL EXTENDS MAPWAY APPLICATION SUITE WITH ‘WHERE AM I?’, ‘WALK TO/FROM NEAREST STATION’ AND ‘NEAREST TUBE TO’

Cambridge, UK based mobile spatial specialist, m-spatial today announced the roll-out of a second wave of MapWay applications, and broadened its service offerings on Vodafone Live!, O2 Active and Orange World.

The new MapWay applications make it quick and easy for users to get the maps and/or directions they want, by focussing on particular usage scenarios and matching the user interface precisely to them. The usage scenarios have been developed as a result of in-depth research carried out with end users of the existing MapWay Walking Directions and View Map applications. The maps displayed by MapWay have also been upgraded, to include a wider range of points of interest such as pubs, banks and supermarkets using easy-to-read icons.

m-spatial CEO Andy Walker explained "Through talking to MapWay users we discovered that whilst people use the applications for all sorts of reasons, a small number of usage scenarios account for a high percentage of the usage. By producing specific applications which focus on these scenarios, we have significantly reduced the number of clicks required from a user to get to the maps/directions they want. We also discovered that users wanted more places of interest to be highlighted within the maps displayed by MapWay."

Varying subsets of the new applications have been delivered to each mobile network operator customer. The latest version of the View Map application has been deployed on all three portals; ‘Walk to/from nearest station’ and ‘Nearest tube to…’ have been deployed on Vodafone live! and Orange World; and ‘Where am I?’ has been deployed on Vodafone live!.

Walker continued “Through precisely meeting the needs of our customers, we have already seen strong and sustained growth in traffic levels. The new applications not only have increased traffic levels through improved usability but have also increased the number of users trying the applications for the first time. By naming the services so obviously, and placing them in relevant sections of a portal, the applications have almost become ‘self marketing’. For example, by placing the ‘Walk to/from nearest station’ application next to a train timetable information service, the user is instantly made aware that their phone can not only help them with train times but also in how to get from the station to their final destination.”

For more information about m-spatial go to www.m-spatial.com.

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