The evolution of our ability to navigate the streets without stopping for directions have made amazing strides since the 1990s. It was about that time that the Global Positioning System was coming on line and it revolutionized how we as drivers got our guidance to our desired destination.No more maps that you couldn’t really read and fold back well enough to stuff back into the glove box. No more stopping at corner gas stations asking an attendant where is Donald Street. Like magic systems with monitors and a special antenna to receive and send out signals to satellites in stationary orbit around the earth, these gadgets told us and showed us exactly where we were on the face of the great Earth.
In the beginning, these systems came from the car manufacturers and were imbedded into the dash of the vehicle. Soon similar systems were available from specialty retail stores that professional installers could place in your car. Then came Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs) that allowed the user to work them while they sat in the palm of his hand.
It didn’t take cellphone manufacturers to get smart and come out with so-called smartphones that can now provide the same navigation service.
The navigation market is definitely segmented. And it turns out that owners of an in-dash navigation system uses it differently than users of a PND and smartphone. We believe a recent study has shown that the PND is the most popular navigation device, followed by the in-car systems.
Well, that could all be shook up again. Google will be providing free in-vehicle navigation to Nokia’s smartphones. Owners of a Nokia smartphone can simply download a new version of Ovi Maps from Google that offers turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries in 46 languages. And remember, its FREE!
This puts Google and Nokia in direct competition with the heavy hitters in the navigation device industry — TomTom and Garmin to name only two. And they are also going directly against General Motors subscription-based OnStar and other systems like it.
Analysts say that the loser in all of this could be the PNDs.
Google and Nokia have their own individual motives for doing this. Google wants to produce mobile search traffic from the car just like there is search traffic from desktop and laptop computers. Nokia just wants to sell more phones.
Our take? Just like what they used to say in those old newsreels of the 1930s — “And time marches on.”
via Automotive News
Most Active