BLOM agreement with ARCHOS for navigation

02 December 2009, 8:40pm

ARCHOS and Blom have entered into an agreement to jointly launch PHOTONAV together with the ARCHOS 5 next generation Internet Tablet in France, Germany and the United Kingdom and then in a further rollout to the rest of Europe in a second phase. Further international expansion is expected in the coming weeks. Blom’s PHOTONAV solution allows for navigation in oblique aerial images, enabling the user to clearly see the real life surroundings inside the device.

The solution proposed by Blom is to be extended to other Archos products as well. According to Dirk Blaauw, CEO of Blom, “this agreement represents an ideal opportunity to display the PHOTONAV application and content in a state-of-the-art device”. According to Henri Crohas, ARCHOS’ CEO, “our new ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet with its high resolution touch screen is the perfect vehicle to exploit the high definition imagery of Blom’s PHOTONAV system. Together with Blom, we are delighted to be the very first to offer this fundamentally new way to navigate and interact with one’s environment.”

In the first phase, there are currently 1,000 European cities that can be purchased and downloaded from the ARCHOS online shop. ARCHOS will be putting the PHOTONAV navigation system on their flagship ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet products which can be activated by the end-user. Additionally, customers will be able to download cities one by one or in packs according to their needs.

Both companies are working in the forefront of new visual experiences and have ambitious plans to become a reference in the market. High resolution oblique imagery is the first step of this cooperation. Advanced features in navigation and imagery come quickly as innovation is in DNA of both companies.

ARCHOS

Blom ASA

Geo: International