Singapore Land Authority and MapKing team up on new maps for Personal Navigation and Pocket PC Devices at Comex 2007

Map software provider, MapKing (Singapore) Pte Ltd, has been given the licensing rights by Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to put SLA base maps on Personal Navigation Device and Pocket PC devices. These products are making their debut at Comex 2007 which opens today. This is also the first time, SLA maps are made available on mobile and navigation devices.

2 Besides co-branding on a range of consumer navigation products, by this year-end, MapKing and SLA will also roll out a no-frills PDA map search for free download by the public. This basic map application offers map view but without navigation or routing functions. SLA’s Head of Land Information Centre, Mr Lim Ming Khai said, “The purpose of this free map application is to allow public to have a set of SLA map on their mobile devices as well and make map data freely accessible to the public.”

3 At Comex 2007 which opens today till this Sunday, MapKing showcased a range of navigation map application softwares for use on mobile devices including Symbian and WindowsCE based PDAs, Pocket PC and mobile phones. The Pocket PC version using SLA base maps is retailing at $99 and the Personal Navigation Device running on Windows CE using SLA base maps is retailing at $499.

4 MapKing used to draw map information from other map sources. The limitation is with the locations which are merely estimations. Not all the attributes and data are updated and accurate. On the switch to use SLA’s base map information, MapKing spokesperson, Mr Matthew Chua said, “There is not a more accurate, updated and more reliable map source than SLA. We are confident that our map software will henceforth provide more data, and the most secure, punctual, and comfortable navigation experience for our customers who use our wide range of softwares for PDAs, PCs, mobile phones or in car navigation hardware.”

5 Mr Chua adds, “As the national mapping authority, SLA has the most number of data and attributes such as building outlines, carparks and MRT networks. It also has the highest density of road and traffic network, and the most updated and complete set of addresses, postal codes, Points of Interest (POI) search on libraries, police stations, ATMs etc. There is frequent quarterly updating provided on high resolution and multiple layers to allow fast and accurate plotting for reading and control. Referencing from the authoritative source, higher accuracy and reliability are assured in their products which are valued by customers. Imagine taking a wrong turn because of a road change or building addition. Precise direction is crucial.”

6 In fact, according to SLA, there are approximately over 300 changes that are made to buildings and roads monthly. SLA base map now includes more than 4,200 named roads and 120,000 address points and places of interest - buildings, schools, hotels and petrol kiosks.

7 Mr Lim Ming Khai said, “We are very pleased to seal a win-win collaboration with MapKing. We view this as a good opportunity to generate more public awareness of and make available high accuracy and precise map data and information to the public.”

-End-
 

Jointly issued by:
Singapore Land Authority and MapKing (Singapore) Pte Ltd
30 August 2007
 

About SLA
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resource for the economic and social development of Singapore. SLA is responsible for the direct management of some 14,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. SLA is also the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, including the defining of boundaries or legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey system.

SLA launched its own free and no-frills street direction public search last November, StreetMap@Singapore, which is a basic online street directory service that provides the public with basic information like buildings and road names. Users can do a simple search using the following parameters: road name, address, postal code, building or development name and the nearest MRT or LRT station, together with a land ownership public search. So far, there have been more than one million hits on both sites per month.

SLA is the first to digitise street maps, thereby pioneering the way for digital maps, and setting the standards for the industry. By supporting most of the known data exchange formats, SLA land information and maps are compatible with many systems. The map data is versatile and flexible enough to integrate several technologies such as GPS, digital mobile, geography information system (GIS) and real-time correction of vehicle position. Over 100 government departments and agencies are currently using SLA’s digitised land information and maps to assist in improving public services. The applications of other corporate licensees are in areas of logistics, public transport (taxi despatch system) such as from CityCab, and for vehicle tracking such as for SCDF’s Hazmat and S2006. During S2006, SLA’s premium vector map data is the official map for S2006. It was used to monitor and track vehicles in order to provide traffic and positional information for fleet management of the tour buses during this international event.

With vector maps as the base maps, there are many value-add services and applications which can enhance and customise different uses. SLA has two other map licensees, namely V3 Teletech and Wheresoft Commerce, which have developed other corporate and consumer products using our SLA vector maps. For example, V3 Teletech worked with can.com, a lifestyle portal to push out locations and maps of lifestyle places in Singapore, using SLA’s maps.

About MapKing (S) Pte Ltd
MapKing (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a subsidiary of MapKing International Ltd headquartered in Hong Kong and one of Asia’s leading consumer navigation software developers, offering integrated interactive maps covering more than 60 major cities in Pan-Asia region. MapKing group of companies spreads in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. MapKing (Singapore) Pte Ltd was formed in January 2007 together with Singaporean, Malaysian and Hong Kong shareholders.