Rand McNally Navigation for Cell Phones

Ever wondered why you need a expensive car GPS system when you've already got a GPS mobile phone? Rand McNally might have the answer for you.

Venerable map maker Rand McNally (they’ve been around 150 years!) has introduced Rand McNally MONA, a $9.99/month mobile phone application which puts maps and directions right on your mobile phone without any additional equipment or expensive map updates.

As a cell phone application, MONA (which stands for Mobile Navigator) doesn’t have a dedicated interface for mapping functions, so it relies a bit on using a home or office computer to set up details before you head out on the road. Users enter destination addresses online, and they’ve automatically uploaded to the users’ phone. Once there, MONA’s “easy-to-use” interface lets users find their destinations reliably, complete with voice prompts with turn-by-turn directions, and automatic alerts and re-routing if drivers miss a turn. (Or, um, if they turn the wrong way. Not that I’ve ever done that. I’ve heard it happens. Just saying.)

“With Rand McNally MONA, anyone who needs to get from place to placecan access reliable GPS navigation affordably using the cell phones theyalready have, without spending thousands of dollars on an in-car navigationsystem,” said Robert Apatoff, Rand McNally’s president and CEO.

As you might expect, MONA is only compatible with GPS-enabled mobile phones (right now, that includes only the Motorola i710, i730, i736, i830, and i860, although the company plans to add support for additional handsets quickly) and only operates on Nextel phones (yep, you guessed it, they plan to add more carriers soon). Still, for folks who don’t need the burden (and expense…and constant glove-box stashing) of heavy-duty GPS car navigation systems but frequently need a few hints to get from place to place, a solution like MONA might make perfect sense.