GPS Advisor

Telstra today announced the addition of live traffic updates to its Whereis Navigator GPS application, bringing the mobile phone service in line with many in-car GPS units.

Whereis Navigator Traffic directs users around reported traffic incidents, allowing them to avoid delays. The traffic feature will run alongside the current features of Whereis Navigator, which include full voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation, red light camera alerts, and points of interest.

Although most in-car GPS devices already offer live traffic updates, this function has previously not been available on Australian mobile phones.

"The addition of the new Traffic feature is an added bonus for our users because it places live and critical traffic information at their fingertips", said Layla Foord from Whereis.

To bring the live traffic updates to the Navigator application, Telstra and Whereis have partnered with the Australian Traffic Network (ATN). The ATN provides traffic reports to 75 commercial radio stations in Australia, including 2DayFM and Triple M (Austereo), 2UE and ABC Radio. It also supplies traffic reports for Australian television networks such as Channel 10 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and for selected Channel 7 programs including Sunrise and The Today Show.

"Our partnership with ATN takes the Whereis Navigator service to the next level by offering Telstra customers yet another unique feature", said Telstra's Ross Fielding

Whereis Navigator is available on selected Telstra phones for $15 per month or $4 per day. Telstra allows users to sign up for a free seven-day trial before purchase. Existing Whereis Navigator subscribers can access the new traffic feature at no extra cost.