With the recent launch of the Nokia N95, as well as the GPS-enabled BlackBerries, it is clear that consumer-focused, mobile phone GPS is an emerging trend. This is much to the chagrin of traditional, hand-held navigational device manufacturers. According to Reuters:
While a few years ago personal navigation device makers like Dutch
TomTom shrugged off possible rivalry from the handset industry, they
have now acknowledged the potential risk to their business.The world’s top handset maker Nokia started to sell its first
navigation phone N95 a month ago, and other top vendors are expected to
follow shortly, hoping to make 2007 the breakthrough year for cell
phone navigation.
The article continues,
According to researchers Canalys, the navigation products market is
set to grow in 2007 by about two thirds from last year, with
traditional personal navigation devices (PND) taking 85 percent of the
market.Analysis firm Berg Insight has forecast annual shipments
of handset-based personal navigation products in Europe and the U.S. to
reach 12 million units by 2009, compared with 1 million in 2005.
Reuters
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I can see the GPS market growing drastically, but I have trouble seeing navigation phones making up a large part of that growth. Although the phones are very mobile, I personally would rather have a device like a TomTom One in my car, than a phone with gps software. They are just easier to use and more accurate. I just can’t think of a situation where having a phone gps would be more practical than having a TomTom.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Blues Traveller’s comment is a common one when new functionality is added to a mobile phone. It’s never that good.
The reality is, however, that as time goes on, the phone version gets better and better and almost always beats the stand-alone device. You only have to look at what has happened to camera technology on phones to see this effect at work.
The main problem with the N95’s GPS is that it is a huge drain on the battery (I speak from bitter experience).
May 8th, 2007 at 4:30 am