Leading GPS Navigation Systems Provider Leverages DigitalGlobe’s Satellite Imagery on New Portable Navigation Device
Longmont, Colo., January 16, 2007 – DigitalGlobe®, provider of the world’s highest- resolution commercial satellite imagery and geospatial information products, today announced that it is partnering with Lowrance, a world-leading brand in marine electronics since 1957, and GPS navigational systems since 1992. Under terms of the partnership DigitalGlobe will provide the satellite imagery for the Lowrance iWAY™ 600C portable navigation device (PND). The iWAY 600c with DigitalGlobe imagery is the first portable navigation device to give drivers unparalleled access to the world’s highest resolution commercial imaging system. DigitalGlobe demonstrated its capabilities on the iWAY 600c at the International CES Conference.
“As portable navigation devices grow in popularity there is a need for more accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date digital imagery to maximize the utility of these advanced capabilities,” said Marc Tremblay, vice president and general manager of DigitalGlobe’s commercial business unit. “DigitalGlobe is excited to partner with Lowrance, a leader in GPS technologies that has delivered innovation to a loyal customer base for more than a half of a century. We look forward to continuously enhancing the development of our digital archive, supplying Lowrance’s customers with the finest satellite imagery available.”
The iWAY 600C offers detailed satellite imagery of select metropolitan cities and marine mapping/navigation, in addition to precision NAVTEQ® road mapping with voice and visual navigation, audio player with built-in FM modulator, picture viewer, and 5” high-res display. DigitalGlobe’s “birds-eye view” satellite imagery will be the sole provider of digital imagery for the product. Additionally, the iWAY 600C will feature a touch-screen display, more than 5.5 million points of interest, lake and U.S coastal water maps with depth contours, MP3 audio player, full spectrum FM modulator and 30 GB internal hard drive.
“Leveraging DigitalGlobe’s images, the iWAY 600c is capable of providing users with the most precise and up-to-date images available, surpassing traditional maps in its usability and accuracy,” said Jens-Thomas Pietralla, CEO of Lowrance. “We required a partner with a reputation as the best provider of satellite imagery available. DigitalGlobe has both the technology and customer base to prove it, and we are excited to work with them.”
About DigitalGlobe
Longmont, Colo. – based DigitalGlobe (www.digitalglobe.com) is the clear leader in the global commercial Earth imagery and geospatial information market. The company’s technical superiority and innovation, unparalleled commitment to customer service, extensive business partner network and open systems philosophy make DigitalGlobe the preferred supplier of imagery products to government and commercial markets. DigitalGlobe is the only geospatial content provider to take an end-to-end approach to geospatial imagery, from acquiring proprietary high-resolution images through a leading-edge satellite and aerial network, to integrating and distributing that data through GlobeXplorer, a proprietary web-based search and retrieval system that makes it easy to find, purchase and download global imagery. DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite is the world’s highest resolution commercial imaging system. The company’s next-generation WorldView 1 satellite is scheduled to launch in mid-2007, and its WorldView 2 satellite is anticipated to launch in late 2008. The company’s updated and growing ImageLibrary contains over two hundred million square kilometers of QuickBird imagery and an extensive global library of aerial imagery suited to countless mapping and planning needs.