Navigating the future of GPS devices

by Ross Rubin

In the heyday of PDAs such as the Dell Axim and the Hewlett-Packard Jornada, companies such as TomTom and Navigon offered software that ran on other companies’ hardware. The low installed base of PDAs prevented that solution from becoming a runaway success and gave way to integrated portable navigation devices, or PNDs, such as those from Garmin. PNDs sold in the millions, becoming hot gift items.

Now, though, the growing screen size and touch capabilities of smartphones are making them formidable rivals to standalone navigation devices. According to NPD Group’s Mobile Phone Track, four out of five cell phones sold in the fourth quarter of 2009 had GPS capabilities, and half had screen sizes of 2.5 inches or larger.

In the past, phone-based navigation capabilities were used primarily for pedestrian navigation. Google, however, changed that game by introducing free turn-by-turn directions on the fast-selling Motorola Droid, along with plans to proliferate the feature to the many smartphones that use Google Maps.

Motorola even offers a car dock that places the Droid in navigation mode. And on the iPhone, where Google’s turn-by-turn directions are not present, companies such as TomTom and Navigon have returned to their roots, selling apps that include turn-by-turn navigation.

Many have seen the Google giveaway as the death knell for standalone GPS devices, and some may see the free Nokia Ovi Maps and Navigation client in a similar light, but manufacturers still have no problem selling lots of entry-level GPS systems to those who would still rather avoid a recurring fee or data plan.

Source: cnet news