Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Pat Responds: iPhone, Therefore iAm
I think it’s hard to say whether the iPhone will kill traditional GPS.
First, this kind of application has been available on phones for a while. My phone has Google maps and Microsoft maps. Both work fine. Neither are anywhere near as good as my wife’s $250 Garmin Nuvi.
Second, there's the concept of “Ergonomic niches.” There is an ergonomic niche for a device with a big screen that sits in a suction-cup mount attached to the windshield and does nothing except find restaurants, find gas stations, show maps and deliver directions.
There's also the technical limitations of tracking on a phone. Battery life is one issue. And, oh, by the way, what do you do when you to make and receive calls while driving? I guess that he figures everyone will finally get on the Bluetooth bandwagon after 10 years of not doing it. But we know that won’t happen because nobody can keep track of the little headsets.
The price of dedicated GPS navigators continues to drop as well. Many people will look at the convenience and continue to decide that it is worth the price to have a reliable dedicated navigation device in the car.
So I think that there is an ergonomic niche for a navigation device that you don’t also hold up to your head and talk on. Mapping on smart-phones is great but will not replace dedicated units.
My guess is that Garmin’s stock is not dropping because of the iPhone. It’s dropping because they are in a competitive market in which the easy pickings have been taken.
First, this kind of application has been available on phones for a while. My phone has Google maps and Microsoft maps. Both work fine. Neither are anywhere near as good as my wife’s $250 Garmin Nuvi.
Second, there's the concept of “Ergonomic niches.” There is an ergonomic niche for a device with a big screen that sits in a suction-cup mount attached to the windshield and does nothing except find restaurants, find gas stations, show maps and deliver directions.
There's also the technical limitations of tracking on a phone. Battery life is one issue. And, oh, by the way, what do you do when you to make and receive calls while driving? I guess that he figures everyone will finally get on the Bluetooth bandwagon after 10 years of not doing it. But we know that won’t happen because nobody can keep track of the little headsets.
The price of dedicated GPS navigators continues to drop as well. Many people will look at the convenience and continue to decide that it is worth the price to have a reliable dedicated navigation device in the car.
So I think that there is an ergonomic niche for a navigation device that you don’t also hold up to your head and talk on. Mapping on smart-phones is great but will not replace dedicated units.
My guess is that Garmin’s stock is not dropping because of the iPhone. It’s dropping because they are in a competitive market in which the easy pickings have been taken.
Labels: business, current events, GPS, technology
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