I'm going to talk about a few different aspects of Navizon.
First, there is the consumer application. Available for a number of platforms including Windows Mobile, the Navizon application basically allows you to pinpoint your position without a GPS device using either cell towers, or wifi access points - a unique approach. 2 versions of the application are available - a lite version (which does cell positioning), and the $24.95 commercial version which includes both cell positioning and the wifi positioning.
So what can you do with the app? You can perform 'find my nearest' type queries, plot your current position on a map, upload your current position, you can locate your Navizon buddies, you can place a 'Geotag' that can be read later by other Navizon users at a location and you can upload data to Navizon. The data i'm referring to here is the cell and WiFi access point data that your device sees as you travel around. Lastly, if you are using the non-lite version of the app, you can even expose Navizon's position as a 'Virtual GPS' for use in other programs. You could effectively provide positioning data to other programs such as Live Search via Navizon!
Does it work? Yes, it really does! Assuming you are within Navizon's coverage area (we'll get to this in a moment), it works really well. Before using Navizon I hadn't really considered today's near ubiquitous WiFi as an enabler to approximate positioning, but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. The application seems well written and feature packed, and i've been using it for the past week with no real complaints.
So, what's the coverage like? Here we come to the next aspect of Navizon I want to talk about. Navizon's coverage is user contributed. That means that an area will be covered if it has been previously mapped by a Navizon user. This is what I was referring to when I talked about 'data upload' above. Now this is where it gets really cool too. Navizon don't expect you to be nice people and just upload your data for free (although we are of course, right?), they're willling to pay you for it. They're going to give you 10 points for each cell you log, and 2 points for each WiFi AP you log (you only get credited the first time you personally log each individual cell / AP). Every 10,000 points, you can redeem a reward and claim $20 via PayPal.
10,000 points? Whoah, that's a lot, i'll never earn that! You might think that, and to be honest, I was probably of that school of thought.... until I tried it! In the name of research, on Boxing Day, I installed Navizon on my Kaiser. I figured that since I would be driving around between Christmas and New Year, visiting family and always running CamerAware, I might as well have Navizon on too. So, I ran it, it coexisted perfectly with CamerAware, and between then and my return home yesterday (i.e a period of about 1 week of moderate driving), i've clocked up 18,000 points! That's nearly 2 rewards, and nearly $40!
Below is a pic of my current Navizon rewards status, and I have also included a screen capture from Navizon from 1 of my journeys. Believe it or not this is 1 journey of only 15 miles through Central London to the Emirates Stadium home of Arsenal on New Years Day. You probably would not clock up these points on any other 15 mile journey, but it goes to show what is up for grabs!
Neato! Anything else? There's a couple of other cool things. The first is that when you refer other people to Navizon, you get awarded 20% of the value of their points. So, for every 10,000 they earn, you get 2,000 too, at no cost to them.
OK, sounds great - where do I sign up? Simply head over to the Navizon page , download the application, and get started! If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to post here, i've been hammering the application pretty intensively the past week
THE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Smartphone or Tablet with Android or iOS
2. Wi-Fi or GSM built-in
3. GPS built-in
4. PayPal for redeeming your claimed rewards
5. Active internet connection is not required
If you do not meet the requirements, you can still continue reading, but you can get points only from your referrals (if you have any).
THE REGISTRATION:
Registration is very simple - just click the banner below and follow the instructions.
THE HOW-TO guide:
Once you've signed-in, you'll have to specify your "home area". Either click "My Area" or "Set my home area" link and just create a rectangle near your home area.
The "home area" is not meant to be a place where you'll be mapping your points, but it can be used with a conjunction of "Coverage" to find out where you can map most of them.
In order to start mapping your points, you need to install Android or iOS application, corresponding to your platform. You can either search for the app called: Navizon from the Play Store or App Store, or even install it into the device remotely.
TO DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION GO HERE AND CLICK 'SKIP AD'
When you start Navizon, application you've just installed, go to the menu, click "Mapping" and then click "GPS on" button.
Now you are successfully mapping your points. To upload them, just go to the "Mapping" menu and click "Upload", to upload them. They are also being uploaded continuously (as long as internet connection is available).
As of now, you should see "Some of your points have not yet been processed" in your Navizon account, specifically in "Rewards" tab, if the mapped points were uploaded successfully.
When you collect 10.000 points, you can "Redeem" these points for $10 USD ($9.8) - due to PayPal fees and send them to your PayPal account.
The first "Redeem" is free, because you're running the trial premium version. But once you've made your first $10, you need to buy premium account, which costs you next 10.000 points and lasts forever!
PAYMENT PROOFS FROM NAVIZON.COM:
REGISTER HERE:
My points do not appear in my account Navizon, why?
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