Smartnav goes mobile

Trafficmasters innovative Smartnav navigation system is now available on GPS-enabled mobile phones.

Rather than having a Smartnav unit installed in your car at a cost of at least 424, including a years subscription, Smartnav mobile means you can use a Windows-based GPS mobile phone and pay just 4.95 a month or 49.95 per year.

Trafficmaster uses a national network of sensors on major roads and motorways to feed back road conditions to a central control centre.

Then, rather than relying on a processor in your car's sat-nav system, routes are calculated by Trafficmasters central computer and sent to the Smartnav mobile unit.

If theres congestion on the planned route, a new set of directions will be created and forwarded to the user's mobile phone.

You can also call the Trafficmaster centre where an operator will help plan your route, or even find you a restaurant. These calls are charged extra, though at a rather pricey 59p per minute.

If you dont have a Windows-based mobile, Trafficmaster is also trialing Smartnav on the Nokia N96 and Blackberry phones.