Archive for December, 2009

Is This the End of Standalone GPS Devices?

Thursday, December 17th, 2009 | located in SME Trends | No Comments »

Now that smartphones have become so advanced, I’m starting to wonder if standalone GPS devices will soon go the way of the dinosaur.

According to market research firm iSuppli, all phones will have some sort of built in GPS by 2011. With such advances in technology, the question becomes: why would anyone need or want a separate personal navigation device (PND)?

I like my current PND. The main reason I haven’t pitched it out yet is that I find it hard to drive while looking at the small screen on my phone. My PND has a larger screen that makes it easier to read, and therefore easier to use. I also rely heavily on the fact that it has an audio “voice” feature. It tells me what my next move is, thus eliminating the need for me to keep looking at the screen.

But I won’t keep it forever - once Apple rolls voice into the Google Maps app on my iPhone, I’ll no longer need to carry around another device.

And about that iPhone… iSuppli predicts that the number of iPhone owners who use their phone as a navigator will increase from 2 million in 2009 to 20 million by 2013. That’s a tremendous jump that doesn’t bode well for standalone GPS devices.

What do you think? Are PND’s on their way out? What hurdles do handheld phone apps need to overcome to truly replace the need for PND’s?