Audible turn-by-turn navigation is great but many of us are already accustomed to this via Google Navigation, a built-in GPS unit or other ways but Scout is trying to stand out be really personalizing the experience for you. Even if two people live in the same city, their journeys and points of interest may be wildly different and Telenav is trying to capitalize on that.

With the Scout iOS app, the Scout.me web page and the in-car integration with Ford and Sony, you’ll be able to customize your journey for things that you like. Whether this is hiking, Indian food or live music, you’ll be able to take this information with you in the car. As you can see from the video below, the in-car solution is smart enough to not only get the navigation data from the car but you can also stream music at the same time.

The beauty of Scout is that it’s a three-screen experience and I will be interested to see how the competition heats up for the in-car app market. So far, I’m pretty impressed with what Telenav is doing.

You can download the Telenav Scout iPhone app here (iTunes link).

As you would expect, mobile played a big role in what was important in tech for 2011. Location services kind of came into its own, photo-sharing apps exploded and the tablet market became real. I’ll stop here and just let you check out the infographic for yourself.

[Via GPlus]

Right now, Foursquare’s biggest competition in the location check-in game is Facebook, especially after they acquired Gowalla. I’m still a little peeved that my years of Foursquare check-ins still aren’t showing up in the Facebook Places, where they would actually count for something among most of the people I know.

If you haven’t got the update notification, you can find Foursquare in BlackBerry App World right here.

Gowalla started as something of a Foursquare competitor where users shared their location-based check-ins but it recently pivoted toward sharing your stories with photos, locations and more. If that sounds it’s harmonious with Facebook’s recently-introduced Timeline feature, you’d be right.

In the blog post, the Gowalla team said:

Gowalla, as a service, will be winding down at the end of January. We plan to provide an easy way to export your Passport data, your Stamp and Pin data (along with your legacy Item data), and your photos as well. Facebook is not acquiring Gowalla’s user data.

We know how much many of you loved Gowalla. It’s been the highlight of our lives as we’ve built it with your help over the past two years. As we move forward, we hope some of the inspiration behind Gowalla — a fun and beautiful way to share your journey on the go — will live on at Facebook.

So, Gowalla is essentially dead but many of its features should live on in upcoming Facebook apps.

[Via GoWalla]

The protocol layer is built on top of Bluetooth 4.0 in the phone or on a tag and it requires the establishment to install minimal locator equipment on the ceiling but once it’s up and running, it enables Nokia to create hyper-accurate, 3D maps inside of venues that can be accurate up to 21 centimeters. Nokia is hoping to get this technology standardized with the Bluetooth SIG, so it could potentially be in consumer products by 2013 – Nokia can push or it on its own with tags or with its own devices.

As you can see from the video below, Nokia engineers put one of these Bluetooth tags on a Parrot drone being controlled by an N9 in a room with four sensors mounted on the ceiling. Another screen shows how the helicopter is tracked in real time on all three axes.

While the helicopter demo makes for some fun videos, the practical applications for this in-door 3D mapping technology are many. For example, if a jean store is properly outfitted, you could get directions on how to drive to the store, as well as where to go within the store to pick up a specific product. The best part is that it could be a seamless experience on the phone, as it can switch between this, WiFi, GPS or aGPS depending on what’s most accurate. The gaming applications are also pretty wild too.

If it gets to be a part of the general Bluetooth standard, this could be a positive for all platforms and handset makers. Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.

• Daily deal notifications sent to their email
• My Offers: Purchased and saved – which allows users to have all their purchased and saved offers organized on their phone along with easy access to Expiring Soon offers so folks don’t miss any of the deals they may like
• Redeem without printing - Enjoy the convenience of redeeming your deals without the need to print
  
  

This is all very interesting, as Google goes head-on against Groupon after the company rejected its takeover bid earlier this year. It’s obvious that the search giant was less than happy that it couldn’t acquire Groupon, so prepared itself to wage war with today’s launch of Google Offers. I wonder if Google will incorporate any elements from its purchase of Zagat, a company which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. I don’t know, but time will tell. 

In any case, visit Android Market to download Google Offers, or visit their landing page for more info.

[via Google]