Frequently Asked Questions

A: Networks In Motion™ (NIM) is an award-winning wireless navigation and location-based services (LBS) company that turns GPS-enabled mobile phones into powerful navigation, location and multi-functional tools. NIM's leading-edge suite of location-based solutions simplifies travel planning and increases travel spontaneity and safety-users will always know where they are, what's around them, how to get to a destination and where their children are located. Whether navigating bad traffic, exploring a new town or just trying to find the way home, NIM simplifies every step of the journey.

NIM has the largest mobile phone navigation subscriber base in North America, surpassing 3.5 million paid users, and provides mobile phone navigation and group finder services through Nordisk Mobiltelefon AB (NMT), a mobile communications operator licensed in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland and Ireland.

A: Whether traveling for business or picking up the kids, NIM's mobile phone navigation applications make it easy for users to find whatever they need, whenever they need it. Directions to nearby restaurants, ATMs, hotels, theaters and other points of interest are never more than a few clicks away. Subscribers can instantly pinpoint their current location and confidently plot their next move, simplifying travel plans and increasing spontaneity.

NAVIGATION PRODUCTS

NIM maps, directories, advanced traffic information, 3-D perspective views, weather reports and turn-by-turn directions with voice guidance transform the cell phone into a personalized travel guide. On any given day, millions of subscribers around the globe use NIM's local search capabilities to find pizza in Milwaukee, nightclubs in Barcelona, rental cars in Sydney and countless other things in countless other places. Users can instantly pinpoint their current location and confidently plot their next move, simplifying travel plans and increasing spontaneity.

FINDER PRODUCTS

NIM keeps people connected with social networking, allowing them to instantly share information on places, activities and events that shape their daily lives. The ability to exchange messages, maps, directions and other information-or even allowing parents to pinpoint the current or recent locations of family members-makes it easier than ever to bring people together. NIM "finder" applications represent the next big leap in linking social communities, allowing family and friends to stay connected wherever they go in the wireless world.

DEVELOPER SOLUTIONS

The NAVBuilder™ Developer Platform Program provides wireless application developers and enterprises with a set of tools to integrate location-based services into their applications and business processes, reducing their time to market. NAVBuilder APIs feature powerful location, mapping and direction capabilities that can easily be integrated into wireless applications. NAVBuilder is designed to operate on devices with BREW™ 2.1.3 or greater or J2ME MIDP 2.0.

A: NIM has services on all major carriers in North America, including AAA Mobile® on Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Alltel and AT&T (announced), Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator, AT&T's YellowPages.com Mobile, Alltel's Axcess Mobile Guide, U.S. Cellular's Your Navigator and TELUS Navigator and TELUS Kid Find. In Europe, Networks In Motion announced an agreement with Nordisk Mobiltelefon AB (NMT), a mobile communications operator licensed in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland and Ireland, to provide mobile phone navigation and group finder services. NIM's services are offered on GPS-enabled mobile phones and smartphones.

A: NIM has the largest mobile phone navigation subscriber base in North America and quite likely the world, exceeding 3.5 million subscribers by the end of 2008. Networks In Motion provides award-winning mobile LBS applications based on its highly scalable, carrier-grade NAVBuilder mobile location and content platform. According to Nielsen Mobile, NIM led the industry in the U.S. with 60 percent market share of LBS revenue in Q2 2008. NIM obtained 32 percent share of carrier revenue from all mobile data applications-nearly double the next closest application-leading all mobile application publishers, which include MySpace Mobile, XM Satellite Radio and other GPS navigation software providers, such as TeleNav, MapQuest Mobile and Garmin Mobile.

With 50 million members nationwide who are already extremely comfortable with AAA, the United States' most recognizable automotive travel brand, the NIM-powered AAA Mobile has the opportunity to mainstream mobile phone navigation and become the dominant application across all major carriers in North America.

A: NIM's successful white-label business model is now being emulated by its competitors. The business model allows large carriers such as Verizon Wireless and well-known brands like AAA to put their advertising and marketing muscle behind promoting a product.

Partners choose NIM because of its proven success in the industry and its products' unique functionality, superior maps and effective user-interfaces.

A: NIM's customers are wireless carriers and software application developers. They can purchase products through the company. For more information, visit www.networksinmotion.com.

A: The main advantage of cell phone navigation is frequent and automatic updates of maps and points of interest, eliminating the need to purchase software upgrades. In addition, consumers only pay a small monthly or daily service fee rather than hundreds to thousands of dollars for in-car systems and PNDs. The application is also mobile, so users can take the phone anywhere and have navigation in the palm of their hand.

There is currently a GPS 'three-horse race'-PNDs, mobile phone applications and in-car systems. Mobile phone navigation has gained popularity in the U.S. and is currently in second place, behind PNDs. There is an exciting opportunity to educate consumers who already own PNDs about the advantages of adding navigation to their phones - because the phone can be used outside the car in pedestrian mode, it makes sense to add cell phone GPS.

A: NIM's product provides heads-up, voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions with auto-rerouting if a turn is missed, so the driver does not need to look down in order to navigate. If the driver somehow misses the voice directions, which are very clear, a large red vector turn arrow fills the screen within 300 feet of an intersection to instruct him or her which way to turn. Therefore, it not necessary to look down at the phone for more than a second while driving, much the same way the driver looks down briefly when changing a radio station.

A: After years of being over-hyped and under-delivered, LBS is gaining serious interest from developers, investors and operators who are scrambling to comply with federal e911 mandates. NIM's founders gained invaluable experience in digital and RF communication systems while designing GPS tracking systems at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Today NIM capitalizes on this expertise, together with recent advances in mobile phones and wireless networks, to enhance productivity for people on the go.

A: While consumers are quickly adopting mobile phone navigation in North America, and there are several million paying subscribers, NIM sees tremendous opportunity in Europe. Research firm Berg Insight forecasts that revenues from mobile LBS in the European market will grow by 34 percent annually to reach EUR 622 million (approximately $809 million USD) in 2010. In addition, the firm forecasts there will be 18 million users subscribing to location billing plans, and navigation will account for 48 percent of mobile LBS revenues by the same year.

A: NIM is committed to remaining the U.S. LBS leader, while expanding its presence in Europe and continuing to develop innovative mobile applications. The company will continue to work closely with its wireless carrier partners and developers in promoting new, innovative LBS services such as real-time traffic information and family-tracking offerings.

The future looks bright for mobile phone navigation. According to Frost & Sullivan, the total LBS market in the U.S. will exceed $600 million in 2008, up from $90 million at the end of 2005. ABI Research predicts 335 million consumers will subscribe to navigation applications for mobile phones and PDAs within the next five years.

NIM is moving forward to emulate its North American success through its Sweden-headquartered European subsidiary, Networks In Motion AB, to offer GPS navigation, local search and other location-enabled services to the European mobile phone market. The company believes early user acceptance of its products' unique functionality, superior maps and effective interfaces will play a major factor in its European outreach.