First Driver-to-Driver Network Answers the Question “What is The Driver Ahead of Me Experiencing?”


News Facts

• Aha Mobile, Inc., the company that keeps drivers informed about the world around them by safely connecting them to each other and to relevant information from the Web, has launched its first consumer experience - the Aha application for iPhone users.

• The company, which soft launched its application two weeks ago in Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, has expanded road and traffic coverage in the following major metropolitan areas: Dallas and San Antonio, TX, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Miami Beach, FL, Seattle, WA, Washington D.C. The company will continue to add road and traffic coverage in more cities in the coming months.

• The free application is now available for download in the iTunes App Store.

• Aha’s application is the first driver-to-driver network that answers questions such as “What is the driver a mile ahead of me seeing out his window?” and “What is traffic like now on my route to work?”

• Aha’s application is designed for use at 65 MPH and gives you information, either audibly or in an at-a-glance format, about the roads and photo enforced camera locations nearby.

• It also connects drivers to personalized Web data about nearby services and destinations, such as restaurants, coffee shops and bathrooms.

• Aha is not a navigation application but is instead designed for daily use when you already know how to get to your destination.

Unique Product Features

• Get “Nearby” Alerts for Things You Care About: Are you hungry, want to grab a cup of coffee, or need to take a bathroom break? Select “yes” to any of those questions and Aha’s “Nearby” function alerts you to places along the way, like restrooms from SitOrSquat or highly rated restaurants from Yelp. Aha will also alert you to red-light and speed cameras as you approach them, using data from Photoenforced.com. At 65 MPH, less is more, so Aha only gives you the relevant results pre-filtered for your preferences and location.

• Listen to Live, Personalized Traffic Channels: Like a radio station dedicated to the roads you care about, Aha lets you listen to traffic “Shouts” (or voice notes) from other drivers without taking your eyes off the road. Aha also uses best-in-class INRIX traffic data to tell you how traffic is flowing and alert you to congestion or accidents on the major road segments around you, without requiring you to study a map.

• “Shout” Out Your Own Traffic Reports: With Aha, every driver is a virtual traffic reporter. Simply tap the microphone icon to record and share a 15-second traffic report to help the drivers around you. Your Shout automatically feeds into the road and city-specific Shout Rooms based on your current location.

• Be Entertained in the Car! Aha also wants to make driving fun. For example, the “Caraoke” Shout Room lets you send out a 15 second recording of your radio sing along, then get rated by other drivers. In the “#%& Drivers” Shout Room, let off steam by venting about a bad driver or your frustrating commute.
Executive Quotes

“Aha is uniquely delivering information that every driver wants in a new and better way that doesn’t involve studying tiny maps while you drive. Sometimes you want to hear a live traffic report from a driver ahead of you, and other times you want relevant information from the Web, like a nearby coffee shop,” said Robert Acker, President and CEO of Aha Mobile, Inc.

“Regardless of the source, Aha filters and customizes the information you want based on your preferences and location, presenting it in a format that limits driving distractions and helps you make smart choices along your familiar routes.”
User Quotes

“I frequently run into traffic in my patrol car, particularly on event days at the Del Mar fairgrounds,” said Aha beta tester and San Diego Deputy Sheriff Marshall Abbott. “Even with some state-of-the-art tools at my disposal, I turn to Aha for the latest conditions on the roads I drive daily. I use it to know when traffic is backed up a few miles ahead of me so I can decide if I should bail for another route. Aha’s at-a-glance information is a very efficient way to get me the information I need.”

“Every day when I get in the car, I run Aha to check the Los Angeles freeway traffic before I leave my driveway,” said Aha beta tester David Whelan. “It quickly gives me a good idea of which route to take to work - in typical LA fashion, I have many routes to choose from. Then, I flip into "Nearby" mode while I drive to get alerted to coffee shops and other places I want to know about along the way. I have found that Aha is far less distracting and more efficient way to get this information than the in-car navigation system in my BMW.”
Images, Assets and Product Demo Video

• Click here to view Aha’s quick product demo videos

• Click here for product and feature images

Blog: ahamobile.com/blog for more information and product updates
Twitter: @ahamobile
Twitter: @photoenforced
Facebook: Join Aha Mobile Fan group
Facebook: Join PhotoEnforced.com Fan group

About Aha Mobile, Inc.

Aha improves your driving experience by keeping you informed about the world around you while you are on the road. To do this, we built the first driver-to-driver network that connects drivers to each other and to relevant information from the Internet. You can record and share your own personal traffic reports to help those around you, or listen to a customized traffic channel on the roads you travel. Aha also alerts you to the nearby things you need – like a great cup of coffee or a restroom. With Aha, drivers share their experiences with one another and help each other on the road.

Founded in 2008, Aha began by building a connected back-end platform that can power any number of devices – from portable electronics to in-car systems. Through our first application, designed for the iPhone, we created a 65 MPH interface (information is delivered audibly or in at-a-glance visual formats) that gives drivers the answers they need while minimizing driving distractions.

Based in Palo Alto, CA, Aha is backed by Venrock and led by a team of executives with nearly four decades of experience developing automotive and location-based services applications.

A lawsuit filed by a rival accuses a leading speed enforcement company of competing illegally by using radar units that lacked required government certification, an issue the rival first raised during bidding for a major Arizona contract. The lawsuit alleged that Redflex competed for photo enforcement contracts and delivered radar units to service those contracts while knowingly lacking Federal Communications Commission certifications for several imported radar types. ATS said it was damaged by misrepresentations and unfair competition by Redflex through its use of uncertified radar that ATS said made Redflex ineligible for contracts in Arizona and other states.

The two companies were rivals for an Arizona contract awarded to Redflex for a speed enforcement program now being launched initially in the Phoenix area with mobile and fixed cameras. The mobile units use radar to trigger cameras. The fixed cameras use pavement-embedded senors.The lawsuit is the latest legal spat over the lucrative state contract which gives Redflex Traffic Systems up to $28.75 out of every $165 paid to the state for motorists caught speeding by any of the 100 fixed and mobile cameras being set up. The contract is believed worth about $20 million a year to Redflex.

Two related news articles . . .

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/130372

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_az_photo_radar.html

Scottsdale, AZ based ATS is the largest independent, privately held company providing photo traffic enforcement services in North America. The company's 2007-08 quarterly compound revenue growth rate exceeded 80 percent. Photo traffic enforcement is now used in approximately 300 communities in 25 American states and the District of Columbia. ATS currently serves more than 125 municipalities in 18 states, the District of Columbia and the Province of Alberta, Canada. New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Houston, Fort Worth, Phoenix, St. Louis, Seattle and San Diego are all ATS customers. ATS Traffic Solutions http://www.atsol.com largest competitor is Australia based Red Flex group http://www.redflex.com.

Redflex - 1494 Cameras with $50M in Revenue 2008, Redflex Traffic Systems is the longest consistently-operating company in the photo enforcement industry. The company, with operations based in Arizona USA and Australia. http://www.redflex.com As the industry leader, Redflex has more contracts in more states than any other vendor. Public safety programs range from those in smaller cities with only a few camera installations to larger cities where red light or speed-enforcement cameras are employed at dozens of intersections. The REDFLEXred® and REDFLEXspeed® photo enforcement technology innovated at Redflex provide unsurpassed accuracy in reducing red light- and speed- related traffic collisions. Statistics in most Redflex-protected cities show significant reductions in most collisions, injuries and costs associated with unlawful driving.

ATS - 1000 Cameras with $40M in Revenue 2008. American Traffic Solutions, Inc. (ATS) is a leading provider of technology and business solutions for photo traffic safety and electronic toll enforcement programs worldwide. Our President and CEO, James Tuton, pioneered the automated photo traffic enforcement industry in the United States, with the first speed-camera program implemented in Paradise Valley, Arizona in 1987. The red-light camera industry followed nearly 10 years later. As the market has matured and grown, so has ATS. ATS has grown more than 500% since 2003 and is now the largest provider of traffic enforcement programs to America’s big cities including: New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri; San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Fort Worth, Irving and Arlington, Texas; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale and Scottsdale, Arizona. ATS also provides Canada’s largest digital red-light camera and speed enforcement program in Calgary, Alberta. ATS serves more than 125 municipalities and government agencies (both large and small) with red-light and speed camera enforcement programs. We have installed nearly 1,000 cameras around the country, with hundreds more in various planning stages.

Nestor - 400 Cameras
ACS - 300 Cameras

RedSpeed - 300 Cameras
Laser Craft - 250 Cameras

Gatso - 250 Cameras and big in Europe

Traffipax -
Transol -
Peek Traffic -