Meet Aura
Sygic, creators of one of our favourite GPS navigation apps, Mobile Maps, have announced their next-generation ‘real 3D’ GPS app, Aura. Described rather excitedly as a “dream come true”, it promises to be a “professional car navigation meets pedestrian-centric application with social networking in a single real 3-D futuristic product”. Phew! Got that? We have to say… it looks fab with densely and slickly-animated 3D buildings and topography, and best of all a New Zealand version is coming. We’ll be going hands-on with an in-depth review once the app is released but in the meantime read on for the full press-release, screen-shots and a video demo to whet your appetite.
Professional car navigation meets pedestrian-centric application with social networking in a single real 3-D futuristic product from Sygic, equipped with voice-guided voice assistance in more than 20 languages. Within Sygic’s AURA (http://aura.sygic.com) , a comprehensive pre-installed data set encompasses Tele Atlas detailed maps and content, far-reaching points of interest, geo-tagged wiki and city guide information.
Full 3-D content displays elevation, buildings and landscapes attractively, and AURA responds smoothly to changing location, whether users are driving or walking. Sygic’s proven car navigation delivers quick route calculation, turn-by-turn features, lane assistance, highway symbols, speed alerts and safety cameras. AURA features contacts and buddy search with a direct call option. A community package permits AURA users to share experiences with other Aura users, by voting on a local restaurant or far-flung destinations.
Sygic’s choice of a pre-loaded data strategy joins cheap on-board storage with more stable, reliable and faster knowledge access than any Internet connection worldwide. For users who want to enjoy the online experience, AURA offers connected features for real-time information. By switching the data stream on, one can chat, see a friend’s location or status, share a location or a pre-selected destination, and look up weather or traffic information.
“Our dream to build AURA has come true – three years of development has resulted in a product that completely differs from others on the market.” said Michal Stencl, CEO of Sygic. “We are happy to announce it now and here, in the world that asks: “What is the future of LBS?”. We simply trust it is AURA – one tool that combines navigation for pedestrians and drivers and lets users learn all about cities: where to go, where to stay and where to meet there. AURA keeps you on track whether your journey is by car or on foot, with the information you need at-hand, always available, without a mobile connection. Drive, walk and meet – AURA presents one incredible, beautiful package.”
AURA is designed for the next generation of smartphones and personal navigation devices such as the iPhone, Google Android, Windows Phone 7 and others.
“We are proud to provide an expert answer to people who are asking why they should buy a new smart phone. The answer is simple, ‘AURA!’” stated Martin Kalis, Sygic marketing manager.
More information including pricing and availability of Sygic’s AURA will be available at AURA.Sygic.com (http://aura.sygic.com).
Visit Sygic and see AURA at CeBIT 2010, in Hannover, Germany – Hall 7, Stand D09.
AURA Screenshots:
WOW!!
(Paul has made 318 comments)
This makes my poor, stuttering, out of date TomTom iPhone app look even more naff then it already is
(mattallen666 has made 8 comments)
It looks great, I just hope they do a good job of the 3D images for New Zealand
(Daniel Burgess has made 613 comments)
I see it is now on the nz app store it would be good to have an updated review of this app
(mattmoy has made 2 comments)
@ mattmoy: We are currently writing it.
(Daniel Burgess has made 613 comments)