Telmap, a provider of white label mapping solutions to many major operators, will now start offering its mapping and location services direct to consumers.
The company has launched the M8 app on Google Play and Apple App Store in Spain and the UK. Telmap provides its mapping software to Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone in both countries. Its M8 app will now compete with those companies' maps and location products.
A spokesperson for the company said that Telmap has maintained good relations with its operator customers, and anticipates a two way flow of products between its operator-branded and D2C offerings.
A statement from the company said, "Telmap has been providing mobile operators with white label offering of local search, mapping and navigation apps over the past decade. Telmap is now expanding its offering and in addition to its work with operators launched M8, its own consumer facing brand. M8, which is a free app to download and use is designed to empower users to better explore, navigate and connect with people and places around them."
As well as the companies listed, Telmap supplies the likes of SFR and MTS.
Oren Nissim, Chief Executive Officer, Telmap, said, “We have decided to take location-based experiences to the next level, bringing together navigation, ultra-local content and services in each of our markets, and social interactions into one true local mate that serves as a one-stop-shop for users on-the-go, available with the most up-to-date information 24/7."
Nissim said that M8, which is currently live in the UK and Spain, has been specifically customised for UK and Spanish users respectively, offering an extra layer of ultra-local content to optimise users’ on-the-go experience. In the UK, M8 includes postcode business and address search, information from Ordnance Survey as well as content from Barclays Cycle, TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet and Yelp. In Spain, in addition to Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet, M8 includes information from Paginas Amarillas (Spanish Yellow Pages) and El Tenedor (local restaurant guide). M8 can also offer users integrations with Facebook and Twitter, from within the app.
M8 also includes turn-by-turn in-car navigation, inclusive of voice-guided instructions, speed cam alerts, traffic conditions information, a dedicated pedestrian navigation mode, a suite of local services and information, user reviews, and more. It also includes compelling orientation, safety, efficiency and fun features such as 3D maps and POIs, shortcuts to home and work addresses for easy commuting, clearer illustrations of next turn and improved lane detection.