Boost adds navigation service

Boost Mobile has tapped Telmap for its branded navigation application, which will run on Java-enabled handsets with GPS.
Boost Navigator provides turn-by-turn walking and driving directions as well as information about nearby theaters, clubs, malls or eateries. The offering can be downloaded over the Internet or via a short code, and is available at four price points: $2 per day, $4 per week, $10 per month or $25 for three months.
“In a national study it was identified that when it comes to the features Americans would like to add to their cellphones, the desire for maps tops the charts,” said Boost Mobile executive Craig Thole, citing a poll from the Pew Research Center.
The division of Sprint Nextel Corp. said it plans to expand the offering to CDMA handsets in September, and Boost Navigator will be preloaded on all of its handsets by October. Telmap powers similar offerings for AOL/Mapquest and Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry.
Sprint Nextel offers its own Sprint-branded navigation service on its CDMA phones, although that application is designed by TeleNav Inc.