The recent changes in the GPS market mark a stark contrast to the navigation scene as recent as a year ago. We had a market dominated by standalone systems which were prevelant on any motorway and a quick drive would often show more than half the cars with a GPS unit stuck on the windscreen, usually right in the middle as well which is a daft place to put it.
Software solutions have of course been available on operating systems as diverse as Symbian, Windows Mobile andeven Palm OS for a long time as well, but like so much else in the mobile market the iPhone changed things a great deal. We now have fully fledged GPS solutions retailing for under £20 and most solutions available now offer as much, if not more, than the standalone systems which have dominated the market for so long. As the general public starts to accept that mobile phones are no longer just for voice and texts they will gradually come around to the idea of installing one piece of software and saving themselves a whole bundle of money.
It is ironic that TomTom who has long pioneered sofware GPS solutions is now more suseptable to this shift than any other company and must have a fairly negative view of the future. The irony comes from the fact that TomTom started off by producing PDA navigation software (Psion) and grew incredibly quickly to dominate the consumer hardware GPS market.
The whole industry has changed to the point that developers can use maps at a price point which no longer ensures high pricing to the customer, and Google has taken the idea even further. With the potential for free turn-by-turn navigation on the horizon for most Android phones this hits the likes of TomTom even harder. As if that were not enough, Nokia has taken it to a new level and now offers lifetime navigation on phones costing less than £100. I am personally not a fan of Ovi Maps, but for people who need GPS occasionally, most people, it represents a ‘too good to be true’ option.
How can the companies who sell millions of standalone units and paid for software solutions every year fight back? They can’t unless they start making products which can include GPS as a loss leader, and the likes of ALK are likely not in a positions to do that. Garmin-Asus is the only example I can think of at this time, but can we really expect to see a TomTom phone on the horizon? In theory TomTom has the capability and the money to do so, and it is likely the only choice it has.
if you’ve tried a tomtom and ovi maps, then you’ll not give up yr tomtom easily. I just upgraded my E71 to the latest ovi maps to get the free licensing deal… the previous version of ovi maps was stable and useful but navigation had expired, the new version crashes and the other apps on my phone are unreliable too.
the tomtom go “just works”, it’s got a big screen so I can read it easily, a big speaker so voice directions are clear, and the mapping software is excellent and reliable and stable… unlike my nokia e71…
Oh dear, once again I find myself talking about my stand alone solution! Although it’s a three year old HP PPC with built in GPS and TomTom so is still multi-functional. A couple of the maps are slightly out of date, but most of the time it’s more than adequate and has the advantage of a large screen that works very well in sunlight. This very useful on our holiday in Italy last summer where I wouldn’t have been without it. Using my iPhone would have been very expensive as it would be using data to get a fix (and load google maps).
I much prefer stand alone system…what is the point/necessity for having it on a phone? It is cheaper no doubt but then you have the hassle of changing/paying extra if you switch platform so it may cost more in the long run. No such problem with a standalone system……sort of
So where is the non-daft place to mount the GPS? Centre windshield puts it in my right peripheral vision and allows my CoPilot (read my wife) to enter changes, searches for POI’s, etc.
As an integrated device, I prefer the iPhone as.I can also listen to tunes and answer calls hands free. My wife uses Tom Tom software loaded on my old TX.
Phillipa if you have Co-Pilot Europe then there are no charges for using the GPS service in Europe. I’ve just come back from a trip in France and spent 3 solid days with Co-Pilot and roaming turned off. No issues except for my usual complaints about their traffic service. Navigation was great despite some awful French traffic. Oh and by the way if you drive around the Arc De Triomphe, just close your eyes when you drive – everyone esle seems to!
Ah Sid. You have brought back happy memories of the Arc de Triomphe. I think you have misunderstood the technique though. You don’t close your eyes. You just pretend you haven’t see anyone. I learnt to drive one of those six-wheeler minibuses in Paris and my co-pilot, who was familiar with the rules of the road, said ‘Don’t stop for anyone. Just keep driving.’ It was a bit unnerving at first but I guess, coz I was bigger than them, they just got out of the way.
It seems to me that it depends on what you need for your own use. I don’t drive but I have found it useful to have a GPS solution for work so that I can walk to meetings that I often have around South London. For me having a solution on the phone makes sense. Sometimes it’s Ovi maps, sometimes Google. Both have been a great help. However, if I did drive all the time and to lots of unfamilier places I think it would make more sense to have a standalone device.