How TeleNav Overcame “Google Scare” and Lived Through IPO
Chris O’Brien spoke about TeleNav’s survival with Sal Dhanani, the company’s vice president of products and marketing. The company just finished a quiet period after its IPO. That IPO (APB coverage), for a company that offers voice-based turn by turn directions for a fee for smartphones, occurred not long after Google announced that same thing for free.
So, why is TeleNav since alive?
- “Dhanani argued the price is a virtue rather than a disadvantage.”
- Google Mobile Map still in beta
- TeleNav’s sole focus is navigation, it’s continually updating the service and adding features
- Google’s offering restricted to some versions of Android
The future for TeleNav?
“It’s launching new mobile advertising and e-commerce features that tap into the growing market for location-based services.”
