Another reason GPS manufacturers may need to worry ?

With portable navigation systems hanging from millions of windshields
and the price point of the popular devices diving down to the $99
mark, automakers' expensive in-dash nav systems are going the way of
the car phone. But with mobile-phone based navigation gaining ground
-- and the new 3-G iPhone expected to debut on Monday with full GPS
capability -- portable navs could soon face a similar fate.

LOTS more with loads of links at
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/portable-nav-da.html

On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:34:07 -0700 (PDT), nickw7coc@gmail.com wrote:

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/portable-nav-da.html

Phones are cool devices, sure, and getting cooler but they are not
practical or economic substitutes for dedicated GPS devices. They cost a
lot per month, in the US anyway. Besides, given the requirements of GPS
navigation, particularly in isolated semi-emergency situations, they may
not be for a long time.

For someone, like myself, who is happy with a prepaid phone plan with
minimal data access, a dedicated GPS unit has several advantages, including
lower initial cost, no monthly data charge, self contained map data, and a
much larger display.

This disadvantages are offset if you already are paying for cellphone
Internet access anyway, and your eyesight is good enough to read the
screen. Even so, you may find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere, with
no bars, no maps, and no luck.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda: this sort of situation happens to all travellers
eventually. When it does, a dedicated GPS with full internal maps can pay
for itself immediately.
--
Mike Russell - http://www.curvemeister.com

+1. Phone GPS units don't have the same sensitivity as dedicated GPS units.
Your cell phone provider also stands to make a killing in providing you data
to compensate for the poorer satellite reception that a smartphone GPS has.
In 5 or more years, hopefully things will change.

Plus, my phone is in my pocket and my GPS is on my dash.


clarity & insight):

if you want gps on your phone now you must pay for the service but in the
future
if the gps device is free then the portable navs may be going away