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Document sans nom
Product News:
 03/11/09: Yahoo Mobile selects Navizon for Cellular and WiFi geolocation.
12/01/08: Navizon now available for the iPhone on the AppStore.
07/08/08: Mexens Technology receives patent for wireless positioning system.
07/01/08: Never lose your phone (or your kids) again: Navizon now includes MobiFindr, letting you locate a phone just by sending a text message to it.
03/18/08: Watch our coverage
spread across the world.
02/08/08: Navizon 2.0
for the iPhone released.
02/06/08: Create a Navizon Alert
and have an email automatically sent to the address of your choice when you
or one of your buddies enters a specific area.
12/10/07: Mexens Technology launches Navizon Lite, a free version of Navizon working with cell positioning only.
11/19/07:
Refer new users to Navizon and
earn 20% of their rewards.
09/18/07: Navizon now available for the iPhone.
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Is the
Virtual GPS as accurate as a real GPS?
 It all depends. Navizon Virtual GPS uses WiFi
triangulation and Cell tower triangulation to provide
location information (as opposed to satellite signals
triangulation for the GPS).
So if
you are in an urban area like New York City or San Francisco
and you are in an area that is covered by the Navizon
database, Navizon's Virtual GPS will use WiFi triangulation
to locate you, since there are plenty of Wifi access points around
you. The location that you get, will
be pretty accurate. (less than half a block)
So,
is it more accurate than GPS?
Probably, since GPS devices will:
-
Take a long time to acquire
an accurate signal.
-
Indicate 0,0 for your
latitude/longitude information (which would put you off the coast of Ghana in the Atlantic
Ocean).
-
Not even work at all in densely populated
areas with big buildings.
Forget
trying to use GPS
indoors where it simply doesn't work.
But don't worry,
because that exact problem, is what makes Navizon so great!
You wont need to worry about GPS reception, because you will
be able to get your location without it.
If you
are in a rural area, Navizon Virtual GPS will most likely
use Cellular Tower triangulation to identify your location.
In this case, Navizon will not be as accurate as a real GPS.
Triangulation based on Cell ID can only give you an
approximate location (3 to 4 blocks in an urban-suburban
environment, 1 mile or 1.5 km in a rural environment) while
satellite positioning can give you a much better accuracy (a
couple of feet or a meter).
But, if your
goal is to find the closest McDonald's when you
are on the highway, why would you need a super-accurate
position anyway?
The location Navizon gives you will be more
than sufficient for what you need it for. Plus you have the
added benefit or being able to use Navizon if you don't have
a GPS enabled device, or if you cant get a GPS signal.
If you
are in an area that is not covered by our database, then of
course, GPS will work better since we will only be able to
identify your location based on your area code (See this FAQ), while the GPS will give you your exact location.
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What is the difference between
Cell ID positioning
and Cell tower triangulation?
Cell ID positioning is accomplished by using your serving
cell tower (the tower that your phone is communicating
with) and its' known position, to find your location.
Cell
tower
triangulation is achieved by seeing all the
cellular towers around you and calculating your
position based on the signal strength that your device
receives from each tower.
Triangulation techniques typically offer much
better accuracy than standard Cell ID techniques:
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Cell ID Positioning |
Cell tower Triangulation |
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1000m - 2000m |
100m - 200m |
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What computing platforms does
Navizon run on?
Navizon runs on most:
(Click on the links above to see some of the compatible devices)
In
addition, Navizon
works on almost all laptops (Windows XP, Windows
Vista and Mac OS X).
What
if I want to start mapping Wifi and Cellular towers?
What hardware do I need?
In
order to contribute data, you will need a Windows
Mobile, Symbian or UIQ phone that has built-in GPS,
or you can use Navizon with a standalone GPS device. Some
Windows Mobile,
Series 60 and
Blackberry devices come with a built-in GPS. But
if your phone doesn't come with a built-in GPS you
can get a Bluetooth GPS like the ones
sold here.
If you
have a Bluetooth GPS device, you can also use the
laptop version of Navizon to map Wifi access
points (May even map cellular towers if you have
certain Nokia or Sony Ericsson phones).
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I am using the
Virtual GPS and I am getting a wrong location.
Why is that?
Navizon is based on a community of users
who map the wireless landscape
wherever they use Navizon with a GPS enabled device,
so that users who don't have a GPS enabled device can get a
location information on their
device with Navizon Virtual GPS. The more data that has been
mapped in a given area, the more accurate the coverage is.
The most
likely explanation is that your area has not been covered well by
another Navizonian. So in theory, the software should display
"No position info". But since it could still be useful to have a
rough idea of where you are, if you want to locate things "near"
you, Navizon may approximate your location if it has some
information.
So if Navizon displays a
location that is not completely accurate, it may very well be that
you area is not mapped, So Navizon is using other means to
provide you with an approximation of your location.
But don't worry: The Navizon community is
constantly growing and there are new users every day in many
different areas of the world. So the coverage you have is getting
better and better every day.
Note: If your area is not
currently mapped in the Navizon database, you could wait
for someone else to map it, or you could just use Navizon with a
GPS enabled device, or a bluetooth GPS device, and rack up tons
of points, thanks to the Navizon
Rewards.
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How can I
check to see if my
area is
mapped?
On our website (www.navizon.com),
Login, choose your area and then
hit Coverage. You should see the symbols of Cell Towers and
Wi-Fi access points.
If your area doesn't appear to be covered, you can:
-
Map your area yourself by using Navizon
with a GPS enabled device or with a Bluetooth GPS reciever. This way, you will
have built your own virtual GPS in your area. And made some
money along the way, thanks to the Navizon Rewards.
-
Tell someone you know who might have a GPS
enabled device about Navizon. If he/she lives in your neighborhood that will
most likely result in having your area covered by the service.
The added bonus of doing this, is that if you
Refer your friend,
you get 20% on top of the points that they map, deposited into
your account. Once they map enough, you can redeem your points
for cash, so tell all your friends.
-
Wait for someone else to map
your area. (If you choose this option, you'll lose out on the
opportunity to make some serious easy cash.
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There is no data in my area.
What can I do?
There are 2 options available to you:
-
If you have
a phone or laptop and a GPS device, you can use it to
map Cell towers and/or Wifi access points in your area.
You can check the hardware requirements
here.
-
If you
don't have the required hardware to collect data, you
might have a friend who does. If so you can
refer him to
Navizon.
This will:
-
Build coverage in your area.
-
He will earn money through the
rewards system.
-
You will earn money through the
referral program (20% of the
rewards he makes).
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"Navizon
told me I collected hundreds of points during my last
journey, but when I synced only a few points showed up
on my rewards page"
The numbers printed
on the Navizon screen are not necessarily new
points. It is just a counter of the Cell Towers and APs
you have seen during the current session.
If you drive the same route twice, the numbers on the
screen will be approximately the same both times. But
the second time you will get a lot fewer points after
you sync, because you have already mapped the majority
of the Cell Towers and APs along that route. Remember,
you only get points for any point, the First time
you see it.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try and map a
location you have already been to, new Cell Towers and
APs are installed every day, and you may pick up some
that you didn't "Map" before. |
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"My Buddy Finder/My trail don't work."
First, make sure
your username and password are correct.
And if you are trying to view your Trail, log in to
the members section
of the site, click the "My Trail" tab, and make
sure it is set to On.
Then:
On Symbian and Blackberry, you must:
-
Allow Navizon to use the network
(answer yes to all questions when Navizon starts)
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Configure your phone to send your location back to
the server:
-
Hit Menu > Options
> Connection, and make sure "Allow server
connection" is checked. Also set the "Connection
frequency" to something to how often you want
Navizon to update your location. (ie 30 seconds)
-
Under Menu > Options > Buddies,
make sure "Appear
invisible" is NOT checked.
On Windows Mobile, you must:
-
Have an internet connection on
your phone.
-
Configure your phone to send your
location back to the server:
-
Go to the map page and select Menu > Buddies,
make sure "Send
location" is checked.
-
Go into Options, and under the "Data"
tab, set
location update rate to how often you want Navizon to
send your location to the server. (ie 30 seconds)
-
Make sure the "Work Offline"
box is not checked.
On an iPhone, when
Navizon starts, click cancel in the
top right corner and in the settings, make sure "appear visible" is
on.
Also see, Changing your
Visibility.
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When I launch Navizon on my iPhone,
I get a message saying
"No known Cells or WiFi nodes in range". Why? What can I do?
If you are getting this message it is possible that your area is not covered by our service yet.
You can check the coverage in your area by logging on to the member section
of our website and clicking on "My coverage".
One other possibility is that your device cannot "see" any Wifi access point or cell towers because you are inside a building that prevents you from seeing a large number of wireless
access points.
You could try to go outside
and try running Navizon. The more Cell towers and Wi-Fi
APs your device can "see" the easier it will be for
Navizon to locate you.
But I don't understand.
I have perfect cellular reception
from where I am.
Yes, but in order for Navizon to get your position, the towers and/or Wifi access points around you need to be
mapped in our database.
You can check the coverage in your
area by go in the member area and checking the "My coverage"
tab.
OK, so is there anything I can do
to make it work.
If you have a GPS device, you can map your area with the
laptop version or with
any other version available for other phones (If you have another phone,
it doesn't even need to be activated on a network. If you
can connect to GPS on it, you can log Points, and connect it
to your computer to sync them).
If you don't have a GPS device, then you can wait for someone else
to map your area, or
refer someone else to Navizon.
Since our coverage expands every day, you can check on a regular basis to see if your area
gets mapped.
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I would like
to contribute data to the system.
How do I get started?
In order to
contribute data to the system you would need a phone or
computer that can connect to a GPS device. Since the
iPhone doesn't have this capability, here are the
options available to you:
-
Use a different phone that has GPS built-in, or
is able to connect to a GPS device. You
will find the hardware requirements
here.(The
phone
doesn't even need to be activated on a network. If you
can connect to GPS on it, you can log Points, and
connect it to your computer to sync them.)
-
Use your
laptop computer and connect it to a GPS device.
Tell a
friend who has a GPS enabled phone or a GPS device to use Navizon.
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When I hit
start, it says
no positioning information. Why? What can I do?
This problem may
have different causes:
If you are using Navizon without GPS, it is either
because your area has not already been mapped, or because you
don't have a Wi-Fi signal .
We advise you to check that your area is covered by Navizon's network (log in to members section and
click on "Coverage") and to check that you
have a Wi-Fi signal.
If you are using Navizon
with GPS, you might have
this issue because you don't have any satellite
reception.
(If you are in a building, or in an area with many high buildings
that is not conducive to a strong GPS signal).
Also, you may want to check to make sure your GPS
device is installed and configured correctly.
If you are sure that none of these problems could
apply to you, then the issue you are having may be
due to the fact that Navizon was not installed or
configured correctly. Here is what you should check:
-
Make sure that Navizon is
connected to the correct COM Port.
help...(The
easiest way to set up an external GPS is to select
the "Bluetooth (Direct Connection)" as your
GPS, that way you don't have to worry about COM port
selection.)
-
Make sure you entered your username
and password correctly.
-
Make sure you have chosen the
correct mode with which you want to run Navizon, Remote (requires internet access) or
Local (requires
you to
select your area on our website, and download the
data before you try and use Navizon)
-
Did you make sure to activate your Wi-Fi
manually, for the first
use of Navizon?
-
Did you check
"Manage Wi-Fi power" (on Smartphone) or
"Allow Navizon to manage power" (on pocket PC)?
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I entered my account info in Navizon and I am getting a message saying
"Invalid username or password". Why is that?
The username and password fields are
Case-Sensitive. So you need to enter them
EXACTLY as you created them when you registered your profile.
Your problem may be that many devices make the first letter upper-case by default. So, if I enter
"johndoe", the device will automatically change it
to "Johndoe" (notice that the first letter is upper case).
So what can you do about it
?
You can either make sure that you enter the first letter with the right case. If you don't know how to do
that, and your device continues to make the first letter automatically upper-case, then you can
try to double the first letter of your username and delete the
Upper case one once you are done. (For example: you enter
"Jjohndoe", then you delete the "J" and it becomes "johndoe". At this point you should be all set.
And make sure you do the same with the password!
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How can
I Check that my GPS
device is installed correctly?
If your GPS LED is
green
but not blinking, your GPS is installed but you have no
positioning information. (You are not getting a position fix from
the Satellite.
You may need to have an unobstructed view
of the sky) (On Symbian, LED will be Yellow
if GPS is installed, and
Green
if it has positioning information). You can try to go outdoors.
Note: Make sure that you hit the "start"
soft-key
If your GPS
LED is grey, this means
that your GPS is not installed correctly. You should proceed as
follow:
-
Check that your device's bluetooth is on, and that your GPS is
on.
-
Make sure that Navizon is connected to the right GPS COM port.
help...
-
If it is still not working, you should try to reinstall your GPS
device.
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This means that you have no internet
connection.
-
If you have an internet access on your
device, check that you are connected, and can access
the internet.
-
If you don't have an internet access on your mobile
device, you must first log in to the Navizon Members
area, and click the "My Area" tab.
-
Select the area you would like to download
positioning information for. Then on your device,
under "Data" you must change the mode from
remote to
local.
-
Once
you have done this, you just hit "Sync" and the
positioning data should automatically be downloaded
to your device.
Note: the
Local mode is a Premium feature. |
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How does Navizon determine the exact locations of
Wi-Fi Access Points and Cellular towers?
When standard GPS signals are available to Navizon
Users with GPS devices this information is used in
concert with available Wi-Fi and Cellular signals to
calculate the specific, physical, geographic locations
(and altitudes) of all Wireless Access Points and
Cellular Phone Towers in the vicinity.
There are some complex mathematics involved but we call this process "Mapping the Wireless Landscape".
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How is it possible to navigate WITHOUT GPS!
I mean come on now - "Software Only GPS"
who are you guys trying to kid?
Ladies
and gentlemen, NO kidding, this stuff really works! Our developers may be revolutionaries but they're also extremely good at making things work -- and the Navizon Wireless Positioning System works incredibly well!
Because of the
hard work of the users who "Map the wireless landscape", Navizon knows the
EXACT geographic locations of tons of Wireless Access Points and Cellular Communications Towers in a
given city or neighborhood.
It is able to use the Wireless Networking (Wi-Fi 802.11) and/or Cellular Phone capabilities (or both) that are present within a similarly equipped Pocket PC device, to
"see" these same Wi-Fi APs and Cell Towers.
Navizon then
checks the APs and towers you can see, with the list
stored on the Navizon Database. If you are within range
of a Wi-Fi AP that has previously been mapped by a
Navizon user, then your location is known with a pretty
close degree of accuracy.
On Windows
mobile phones, Navizon can then use this data to
relay your location to your Personal GPS Navigation
Programs, or to any other Location Based Software Applications on your Pocket PC.
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What exactly happens when I Sync my Pocket PC PDA with the Navizon Network?
That depends on how you are
using Navizon. If you have been using Navizon with a
GPS enabled device, then the locations of Cell
Towers and Wi-Fi APs that you passed, are being sent
to the Navizon Server so those users without GPS
enabled devices can get positioning information when
they travel to the location you just "mapped".
All those points you mapped are logged in your account,
and can eventually be converted into
"Rewards".
Another
thing that happens, is if you are using the
"Local database" option, one of the
Premium features of Navizon, when you sync, the
most recent Navizon positioning database information (ie the
known locations of Wi-Fi and Cell towers in your
area) is downloaded to your device.
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My Cell Phone Company offers a similar kind of Cellular
Navigation Service for my cell phone that they tell me they
can simply add to my monthly bill.
How is Navizon
different from my carriers cellular navigation services?
First,
Navizon is carrier independent, so you don't
have to be tied to your current carrier, and it would work even
if you travel abroad or to a location that your
carrier does not have coverage.
Second, while there are Cellular Phone companies
who are beginning
to offer Cellular based positioning, they do not offer
Wi-Fi positioning, which is more accurate.(1,000
meters for Cellular, vs. 10-30 meters for Wi-Fi).
Last but not least, carriers charge you a monthly
fee and often have "restrictions on use" or complex
pricing schemes whereas Navizon users can
use it whenever and wherever they want.
Navizon gives you the same or better cellular based
positioning as the carrier would, both the
Premium and Lite versions now incorporate Wi-Fi
based location.
Best of all, the Wi-Fi location will work
indoors, and other places where conventional GPS
won't, and is much more accurate than Cellular
Tower based positioning.
So yeah, I guess you could say we're different from the services the big Cellular carrier networks offer.
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Is the Navizon Application or the Navizon Network tracking me or "keeping tabs on me"?
Doesn’t that invade my privacy?
This is a favorite lunch room topic at Navizon and we have a lot to say about the issue of Privacy so let's start saying ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Navizon does some pretty sophisticated and amazing stuff using available devices and communication signals but does
not in any way track or monitor individuals
Additionally, we DO NOT KEEP OR MAINTAIN ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION about our Members.
Our architecture is very similar to that of the original GPS system,
in that no unique, traceable or personal information is ever exchanged during any Navizon process.
In using Navizon
your privacy rights are protected. You can find more information on our Privacy Policy here.
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I thought Peer-to-Peer Networks were
illegal now?
Is Navizon a Legal Network?
Yes, Navizon is Absolutely Legal.
There are many people and corporations who would like us all to believe that all P2P Technology is illegal but the fact is -- it's not.
Only the use of P2P Networks to trade in copyrighted materials has raised some important legal questions that are now being addressed by various courts.
But since Geographic information about locations and places are not copyrighted and GPS navigational signals are a shared public resource, Navizon's
unique approach is not only perfectly legal, but
is a great way to access, share and use available resources to enable Wireless Positioning and Personal Navigation.
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I don’t know my COM port
settings.
How do I find them?
For an external GPS device, just select the one that has "bluetooth" or
"GPS" in the
description name.
Note: If you
don't want to deal with COM ports you can also use
"Bluetooth direct" and it will attempt to connect to
your Bluetooth GPS directly.
Just select "Bluetooth:
(Direct connection)" and Navizon will setup your GPS
device If you don't have a GPS device and
want to use Navizon Virtual GPS , you need to set the
GPS port to 'NO GPS' .
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Are there any maps included
with Navizon?
Navizon will connect to third party web
services to display your location as well as those
of your buddies or local search results on a map.
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If I start using Navizon with a GPS device will I see an immediate improvement in GPS performance?
Navizon will start showing increased accuracy (speed and performance) within One or Two days of first use.
By using Navizon in your favorite areas and on your preferred routes, you will quickly map the
Wi-Fi landscape around you. This system feature applies wherever you go with your GPS device.
Once your
Wi-Fi map is built, you will never be left without
positioning information again, even when GPS signals are
lost or dropped in your city or neighborhood.
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I mapped a ton of data
before the rewards were introduced. Am I going to get
rewards for that?
Yes. This reward plan is retroactive. So if
you have mapped data already you might already have
rewards waiting for you. Go and check the “rewards” page
of the user area.
In order to earn new points from now on you would have
to upgrade to version 3 or later.
Who’s impacted?
Navizon GPS
users are not impacted except for the fact that they can now
earn points and turn them into money.
OK, that’s nice but how can this help me?
If you have a GPS
enabled device, load the latest version of Navizon, make
sure the GPS is configured correctly, keep it
running whenever you can, and you have turned your
phone into a virtual taxi meter.
If you don’t have a GPS enabled device, you can still
use the Lite version of Navizon for free, or if you
want more features, you can buy the
Premium version (free to try, $9.99 to buy).
This
money will go into the pocket of the people mapping the
landscape for you.
Because of this incentive, those who do the "mapping" will
continue to add to the Navizon database, and make it even
better and more accurate every day..
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How can I
activate manually
the data sync process?
Simply tap, Menu > "Sync" from the main
dashboard of the Navizon program.
Note:
If you don't have an internet connection on your mobile
device, you can connect it to your PC with Activesync,
and simply hit "Sync" on your device.
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Is there a whitepaper on Navizon that I can download?
Yes, you can get a whitepaper
here.
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