Singapore’s mapping start-up Gothere.sg launched their new iPhone application about exactly a week ago. I had the pleasure of catching up with Junhan, one of Gothere’s founders, to get both a demo of their app and a status update of what they’ve been doing.

Firstly, below are some YouTube videos that the scrappy Gothere guys have put up on the Interwebs to explain what their app is about:

Basically it’s a front end client app on iPhone that extends their already popular Gothere.sg site. I’m don’t own an iPhone (I have a HTC Desire and am on the Android platform), but in the preview session that Junhan demoed the app to me and a few other work colleagues on the iPhone 4, I found the app to be excellent.

Everything that I liked about Gothere.sg — various driving public transport suggestions + estimated costs (e.g. avoiding ERP gantrys), trip summaries, smart autocompletion of search locations, etc. — had been shrunk down into one portable app. And the best thing is that the price point of S$1.99 for the app is something that is very affordable.

There has been quite a bit of talk over the new public transport distance fare calculations that have been put in place in Singapore since July 3rd.

There have been the usual government overtures that in general people pay less and the system is fairer under the new distance fares.

From the opposite camp, irate citizen bloggers claim that this isn’t true at all.

I find the official LTA fare calculator a pain to use, so if you’re interested in how much more (or less) you’re paying, go use Gothere’s mapping and directions tool. I use Gothere often to get directions, so the extra functionality is just groovy.

Thanks to this post on DK’s blog, from which I first came across this!

Hmmm. Gothere folks, if you’re reading this, perhaps with your data collected on searches done by Singaporeans you can probably do a good estimate on the question everybody is dying to know: Are Singaporeans paying more or less for transport under the new system?

If you send this in to the various local media, I’m certain they will love to know!

Availability: 27th March 2010, via M1 and StarHub, and all authorized resellers
Retail Price: S$638 (including GST)
Quick highlights: Windows Mobile 6.5.3 phone, comes bundled with preloaded navigation from Garmin and Tele Atlas, 3.5 inch WVGA 480×800 screen
Promotions: Consumers who purchase the Garmin-Asus M10 smart phone between 27th March to 2nd May 2010 can get a car kit at a discounted price of S$65 (usual price S$78)

Garmin and Asus made a big splash today at their media event for their upcoming launch of the M10 phone in Singapore.

Now Asus is better known for their range of netbooks and graphics cards, but they have been trying to break into the smartphone market for at least two years. I haven’t been really impressed with Asus smartphones I’ve reviewed in the past as I found that both interface and form factor wise were just so-so.

But the Asus folks believe that this phone is a breakout one that will be lapped up by consumers. Benson Lin, vice president and general manager of Asus’ personal mobile devices business unit, believes that their phone will do very well against the competition, like the upcoming HTC HD mini (also a Windows 6.5.3 phone) and HTC Legend (Android 2.1).

… is still a netbook.

Yes, I am talking about Nokia’s Booklet 3G, the cellphone giant’s first mini laptop. If you needed the surest sign of the convergence between smartphones and laptops, details of Nokia’s new gizmo are it.

Unveiled hours ago, the 1.25kg Booklet 3G will feature the usual compact screen (a 10-incher here) first made famous by the first netbooks in the shape of Asus’ Eee PC. Nokia’s small machine will also feature an Intel Atom processor and run Microsoft Windows – standard fare now in netbooks.

So, is this another “me too” product from Nokia, long after the first two waves of netbooks have come from Taiwanese electronics makers and then “A-brand” PC makers?

I’m really glad that the Gothere.sg folks got their 90 seconds of fame when Minister of Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam mentioned them in the recent unveiling of the Singapore budget.

Gothere has built a darn heck of a great transport site in Singapore, and the guys have both passion and great ideas. Hopefully their S$100K project with LTA will allow them to grow into something more robust.

Caught up with them recently at Garag3, the NUS incubator for “mad geniuses”. When I was there chatting with them, they showcased their streetlevel views function to me, which I thought was pretty darn cool. Similar to Google’s StreetViews (available in US, Australia, Japan and parts of Europe), Gothere is first Singapore street directory site to incorporate such a function.

Thanks to Daft Logic, exercise junkies – those who pound the pavement with their Asics and crank the gears on their Cervelos – can find out exactly how much miles and kms they are covering in Singapore – or any other country for that matter. This Google distance calculator app may not be new to some, but I tried it out for the first time last week and just loved it.

If you live in Singapore and you haven’t heard of or tried Gothere, do yourself a favour and take a look. It’s such a useful resource that I have the URL bookmarked in my brain.

I’ll flat out admit it: I’m a huge fan and user.

Of all the various map, location and road routing sites for Singapore, I feel that Gothere is the best. It trashes the competition out there in terms of usability and function: the incumbent Streetdirectory, StreetDB, and Google Maps.

Don’t even get me started on SLA’s map or Rednano’s one.

Started up in just May 2008 this year, Gothere.sg has generated buzz in the blogosphere but is still under the radar in the mainstream.

Traditionally, computer bazaars have the best deals for the last day, when retailers clear their stock at low, low prices. This is when the crowds rush in.

When I went down today to Comex at noon, and the crowd was already building up. Some good buys/price drops include:

1. D-Link DIR-655 Wireless N router – S$169
No need to trade in your router, no need to bargain. You can even get a pair of (presumably cheapo) speakers for free when you buy one of these mean fellas that can handle loads of Bit-torrent downloads. Original price was S$189 if you trade in an old router.