VZ Navigator:

GPS Goes Mobile

By Rachel Shepherd

Just imagine. You’re late for a meeting with a potential buyer – and lost.

Or your potential buyer is lost and in need of directions that you don’t know.

You could be holding the solution to these problems in the palm of your hand. The VZ Navigator service from Verizon Wireless shows the way, using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to give users directions within seconds. It identifies the user’s location and nearby landmarks and provides audible turn-by-turn directions.

Available by subscription from Verizon’s Get It Now® program, VZ Navigator runs on the Motorola V325, the Motorola Razr V3M, the LG VX9800 and the new LG Chocolate Phone. Cost is $9.99 per month or $2.99 per 24 hours.

Laura Merritt, spokesperson for Verizon Wireless, says the service would soon be available on other phones. “It’s a very popular tool,” she says. “It’s good for somebody who doesn’t travel frequently and needs it for a few days but great for someone who travels often and needs to know the territory.”

The VZ Navigator offers maps that can locate nearly 14 million points of interest in the nation like landmarks, restaurants and ATMs. Merritt says this feature has been most valuable to users. “If you want to go to Starbucks, restaurants, gas stations or hotels, just tell the [VZ] Navigator,” Merritt says.

Have a couple places to go in one day or have a schedule you need to follow daily?  Let VZ Navigator manage your locations based on the day of week, time of day and other privacy settings that you establish and manage from the handset.

There are other mapping options available online such as www.searchquest.com. A user can view maps but cannot get turn-by-turn directions.

To learn more about the VZ Navigator and the Verizon Wireless Get It Now® program, check out the web site: www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow.