TomTom GO 520 GPS navigator adds Wi-Fi, live updates

TomTom's new TomTom GO 520 GPS navigator uses Wi-Fi to ensure automatic updates. Other new features users can look forward to include real-time, traffic information and Lifetime TomTom Traffic, Lifetime Maps and Lifetime Speed Camera alerts.

The new TomTom GO 520 also supports voice recognition. It reads out text messages, allow handsfree calling, and is compatible with personal assistants like Apple's Siri, Google Now, or Microsoft's Cortana. Users can search using voice, have the TomTom GO read out messages when they arrive or make and take calls via voice control.

The TomTom GO 520 has artificial intelligence and is able to learn a driver's habits. That means it can predict a destination*. Navigation for a regular commute becomes automatic, including avoiding traffic. If there is a traffic jam or speed camera, the TomTom GO 520 will sound an alert in good time.

Chris Kearney, VP APAC, TomTom Consumer, said: "The new TomTom GO 520 GPS navigator represents our focus on making technology so easy to use that anybody can benefit from it. Wi-
Fi updates, smartphone integration, predicting your destination – even Lifetime services. Each element works towards removing the headaches associated with driving, and allows people everywhere to relax and enjoy the journey ahead."

The TomTom GO 520 features a 5" screen, a sleek finish and quad-core innards. It also supports a smartphone connection for live alerts on traffic and speed cameras.

Interested?

The new TomTom GO GPS will be available from late September at selected retailers in Singapore.

*Destination prediction learns the driver’s preferences, regular routes driven, etc., over time.

posted from Bloggeroid

TomTom City portal provides live traffic and travel information

TomTom (TOM2) has announced TomTom City – a new traffic portal that provides live traffic and travel information for consumers and traffic management experts.

The new service showcases the extensive range of traffic information available on a city by city basis and will provide a platform to connect traffic authorities, businesses and citizens to jointly manage sustainable and efficient mobility. TomTom City builds on the TomTom Traffic information available to TomTom navigation devices and licensing partners in automotive, consumer and government. It also extends the historical congestion information provided through reports such as the TomTom Traffic Index.

TomTom City is accessible from any Internet enabled computer, tablet or smartphone and provides freely accessible content showing live traffic status and incidents as well as other driver-based information in cities. This will enable users to check their journey routes first and plan the best route. The data is also accessible to traffic management experts, traffic issues can now be dealt with even more quickly.

Singapore is one of 25 cities in 18 countries selected for this initial launch. More cities in 18 countries will be included, and more products, throughout the year.

Ralf-Peter Schäfer, Head of Traffic at TomTom, said: “TomTom City gives drivers and traffic managers essential insights into the real-time traffic situation and the historical bottlenecks in key cities. This is an important step in our mission to help reduce delays for all drivers. Using data from over 450 million devices* globally we are creating services that will help cities and connected cars work together to optimise the road network.”

Key features:

Real time traffic status updated every minute

Status indicators show the current average speed observed in the city compared to average speed when there is no congestion; a congestion barometer showing relative congestion compared to a free-flowing period; and a snapshot that shows the number of road closures, construction areas and accidents currently in the city. In addition, TomTom City also shows the traffic incidents on a map, and the traffic flow (speed) on a map.

Delay hotspots

TomTom City shows the top congestion bottlenecks recorded in the recent quarterly period.  The information is presented as a summary for ‘All Day’ and separately for morning and afternoon peak periods to reflect the periodic traffic conditions in cities.  Summary information is presented on a map view and each hotspot can be selected individually to see road segment delay details.

Event reporter

This new web-based tool will help road authorities and other professional operators to inform millions of road users in minutes about events that are affecting the road network and its traffic flows via the TomTom Traffic service.  With a few clicks a road authority can report road closures, road works, accidents and other disruptions that are affecting traffic in their local area, now, as well as those planned in the future.

Cities in Asia Pacific and the Middle East currently supported include:

Auckland (NZL), Sydney (AUS), Dubai (ARE), Istanbul (TUR), Riyadh (SAU), Singapore (SGP), and Taipei (TWN).

*Devices include dedicated portable navigation devices, connected smartphone applications, in-dash navigation and fleet management systems.

posted from Bloggeroid

Fraudulent clicks and pageviews can inflate digital marketing results

So you've done your due diligence and purchased your online advertisements on a portal which produces really good results, perhaps better results than average. You sit back and watch the clickthroughs rise by the week, paying for 'leads' as users are attracted enough to visit the store locator pages of your website; but sales aren't increasing. What gives?

What might be happening is fraud, and not necessarily from the portal itself.
According to the US-based Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), there needs to be more awareness about non-intentional traffic which is affecting the accuracy of measurement for Traffic of Good Intent.

"The companies that participate in the digital advertising supply chain have been struggling with how to handle criminal enterprises intent on gaming the system,” said Steve Sullivan, Vice President, Advertising Technology, IAB.

“These fraudsters are diluting the value of all legitimate inventory while simultaneously diminishing the integrity of the entire digital marketing industry. The introduction of these best practices is a first step in reducing the marketplace repercussions of these illegal activities.”

The IAB and its Traffic of Good Intent Task Force have released the “Best Practices – Traffic Fraud: Reducing Risk to Exposure” guide to meet this challenge. The document explains how robotic traffic or 'bots' can infiltrate legitimate publisher platforms, and advises premium publishers and networks as well as buyers how to reduce risk.

According to the IAB Traffic of Good Intent Task Force, 'non-intentional traffic' can even occur without the knowledge of a user. In one method, users are automatically redirected to other websites after closing a website. In another, content such as ads or even full websites load invisibly in the background, at a  minute 1x1 pixel size for example, while a user is intentionally viewing content from other sites. 

What do perpetrators of non-intentional traffic get out of it? Huge volumes of pageviews leads to advertising inventory that can be sold on advertising exchanges. Alternatively, driving up traffic can increase the perceived value of infected browsers to both marketers and targeters. 

For example, bots can simulate 'clicks' on the invisible ads or through hijacking the browser software to record a 'visit' to the sites of marketers whose ads have been invisibly run. They may even produce a 'lead' by visiting the store locator page. 

“When only a handful of companies act to reduce fraud, the criminals win. We need to band together to effectively put a stop to the destruction of our industry at the hands of racketeers,” said John Battelle, Founder and Chairman, Federated Media, and co-Chair of the IAB Traffic of Good Intent Task Force. 

“Even the most scrupulous publishers and networks can be hit with non-intentional traffic propagated by criminals. If we want to truly address the problem, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to embrace uniform levels of vigilance.”

The document on best practices for reducing the risk of online traffic fraud can be viewed here.