Navizon for PC and Mac
Navizon is the
first positioning system that combines Cellular, Wi-Fi and GPS
positioning. Of course, you don’t need to have the 3 of them to
use Navizon, but the more you have, the better your position
information.
And if you have a GPS device, you might even earn points and
turn them into money (check out this page for more details on
the rewards program).
Click on the button
below to launch Navizon
If Java is not installed on your computer,
click here
to download it.
The first screen you will see is
this one.
Like you can imagine,
this means that you need to create a login to start using
Navizon.
To do so, just click
here to create a new profile.
Once Navizon is
running you will see a screen like this:
So what do these
colors mean?
Grey – This
type of signal was not found
Orange – Signal
found.
Green – Signal
found and the current location is provided by this type of
signal
If one of the three
lights is green, then the others will stay orange as only one
radio can be used for positioning. If none of the lights are
green, it means that your position could not be identified, most
likely because your area is not covered by the Navizon database.
How to make Navizon find
the different signals?
Wi-Fi: Making Navizon work with Wi-Fi is probably the
simplest. Just turn on the Wi-Fi radio on your laptop computer
and that’s it! It is recommended that you do so before launching
Navizon. If Navizon is able to recognize the Wi-Fi card on your
computer, the Wi-Fi led will turn orange. If in addition, your
area is mapped, it will turn green, indicating that you just got
a position fix. Click on “Go to map” to see your position.
Phone: Navizon can also obtain your position by using
your cell phone radio. Just pair your phone with your computer
via Bluetooth. Then, once your phone has been successfully
paired, click on “Search for GPS/Phone” in the Navizon menu. If
your phone is supported by Navizon, the phone light should turn
orange. And if your area is mapped, it will turn green.
Note: not all phones can be recognized by Navizon. So if the
Phone light stays orange, don’t freak out. It probably means
that your phone is not compatible. But wait… there’s still hope:
Navizon might be available for you mobile phone. Just go on
www.navizon.com from your mobile device to try it.
GPS: Similarly to Phone, you can make Navizon work with a
GPS device if you have one. If it is a Bluetooth GPS, just pair
it with your computer. Once it I successfully paired Navizon
should recognize it. If it is any other type of GPS, all you
need is to have a serial port on your computer created for it.
At this point, launch Navizon and click on “Search for
GPS/Phone”. If it is able to recognize it, the GPS light should
turn orange or green.
Using Navizon with a GPS is not only fun: it can also earn you
money. Check out the rewards page for more details.
Using MGMaps to display
your position:
Once you location has
been identified by Navizon, you can see it by clicking on “Go to
map”. This will make you switch to MGMaps, a great application
that display your location on Google Maps, MSN maps, Yahoo maps
or Ask maps. It will also let you search for things around you,
find your directions from here to there and many more features.
Zooming in and out on my position: like it is indicated on the
screen, you can zoom in and out by clicking on the * and # keys.
But you have to figure you are on the phone and you need to
click on these keys on the Microemulator phone keyboard.
If you are not too crazy about uing the phone’s keyboard, you
can also play with the zoom buttons and scroll bar on the left
of the screen (Google maps junkies should be used to it).
OK, cool. I zoomed in, but
where the hell am I?
Your position is indicated by a blue marker. In order to have
the map centered on your location, you need to hit 9 (on the
phone emulator’s keypad).
If you want to have Navizon remain centered on your position,
you can do so by clicking on Menu -> GPS -> Mobile tracking and
by checking “Move map”.
Where are my buddies?
Navizon can let you
see where your buddies are located on a map. In the member
section, just create a group and let your friends, family or
coworkers join it if they feel like it. You can also add a
contact directly to your Buddy list by clicking on Buddies ->
Invite by Email (or by SMS if you are using Navizon on a mobile
device).
