SK planet’s latest official press releases
Korea’s first mobile navigation service T map has secured over 10 million users in 10 years ? 4.2 million users a month...900 million kilometers of routes in guided travel distance a month
SK Planet’s T map is the first mobile navigation service in Korea to reach 10 million users, according to the company on October 31.
SK Planet’s ‘T map’ started as ‘Nate Drive’ on February 18, 2002, which was the first service in Korea to provide real-time traffic information on mobile phones. On July 2007, it expanded to the present ‘T map’, which provides various location based services.
When starting the service, T map was linked to the Nate service, which was provided both on mobile or wire-based, and featured the then-spectacular ‘mobile-based destination navigation and information searching service.’ T map even pioneered a new business area, the ‘Telematics’, and dozens of companies participated in the field of device manufacturing and information provision.
※ The term ‘Telematics’ is a combination of telecommunications and informatics. Through Telematics, users can not only enjoy music and movies, surf on the internet or search for news, but also identify locations by the using voice recognition function, Vehicle check and the GPS.
SK Planet commented that "The Telematics which began in earnest through the release of T map, is a convergence item combining the auto industry and communications industry. Not only is it the main service in the IT field’s new business power, but also contributes to the competitiveness of the auto industry and invigoration of other device-related industries."
■ T map rotates the earth 22,500 times a month
The competitiveness of T map is the unrivaled ‘Route recommendation algorithm’, which uses its vast traffic information accumulated on its database over the last 10 years, time and even weather conditions for its computation. It is based on the service providing the fastest route and ETA (margin of error: 5 minutes).
Thanks to this convenience, T map grew explosively as Smartphones spread among people, and at present, 4.2 million users are using T map more than 10 million times a month.
In September alone, T map guided over 900 million km traveled distance, which is the distance enough to travel around the earth 22,500 times. The average distance guided by T map per use is 40 km.
■ T map, going beyond Telematics
After its release, T map has been expanding its reach beyond the mobile phone-based After Market by providing exclusive services in the Before Market in cooperation with domestic and overseas automobile manufacturing companies such as Renault-Samsung.
Also, in 2009, T map released the first Mobile In Vehicle service in the world, realizing the technology to not only check and control the vehicle through mobile phones, but also provide various services such as mobile-linked entertainment service, navigation service and location information.
SK Planet’s Mobile In Vehicle is noteworthy in that it features the ‘Vehicle Check and Control Service’ which can check the vehicle’s engine and brakes and controls various attachments such as doors, trunk, headlight and taillights. Also, it is possible to trace and observe the vehicle through mobile phone by through ‘Safe Security Service.’
By applying Mobile In Vehicle technology to manufactured cars, SK Planet is making an effort to pioneer the new market and converge the service between mobile and auto. SK Planet will try to make its MIV technology a competitive product in the global Telematics market, which is predicted to grow to a scale of 15.4 billion dollars in 2010 and 70.4 billion dollars in 2020.
(Source: Ubiquitous Network Industry)
■ T map evolves into an everyday location based service
With the explosive growth of T map, SK Planet is spurring to developing various everyday location based services based on it.
Starting with the release of ‘T map HOT,’ an SNS-based living information service in July, SK Planet is planning to strengthen T map’s everyday information service by renewing the ‘information of surroundings’ menu into ‘T map place’ in November.
‘T map place’ provides the search results in the order of accuracy, grades given by users, proximity, adding differentiated place information such as menu, price, parking place and public transportation. Also, T map place provides rich pictures, user reviews as well as link to other SNS.
Further, starting on October 31, SK Planet provides T map service to 9 Smartphone models of KT and U+ which can access T store. SK Planet will expand the T map service to 25 models of KT and U+, and also planning to release it for iPhone in November.
■ SK Planet launches ’10 million happiness’ event celebrating the reach of 10 million users of T store and T map
To celebrate the 10 million users of T map and T store, SK Planet launches the ’10 million happiness’ event from November 2 to November 30.
Anyone can participate in the event through SNS on T map (www.tmap.co.kr) and T store (www.tstore.co.kr) websites. In December, 10 million won will be given to 2 randomly chosen winners. Also, all customers who have downloaded recommended apps and products on T store or downloaded and used T map will be given a coupon for Dunkin original Coffee and Kyobo bookstore’s coupon worth 1,000 won. LTE tablet PCs (10 winners) and SK refueling coupons (20 winners) will also be give away randomly.
Joo Sik Lee, head of SK Planet’s Service Platform BU, said, "The mark of 10 million users of SK Planet’s T map means that it has ensured its position as Korea’s no.1 navigation service. As an open Platform business, SK Planet will provide various platform services without discrimination to all Korean people."