The launch of the new iPhone 3G with built-in GPS and the imminent launch of several competitors (including one from GPS specialist Garmin) has prompted thoughts that the stand-alone GPS device will begin to disappear.

GPS Magazine echoed this analysis in a recent piece about Garmin's new GPS-enabled smartphone, the nuvifone. The article does point out that there are some limitations and challenges to putting GPS functionality onto a smart phone. The article mentions two: battery life and design of user interface.

Check out the story at: http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2008/06/why_garmins_nuvifone_could_be.php

Our Survey of User Needs shows that respondents who currently own a GPS device are moderately more likelyhan non-GPS-owners to want durability and toughness, long battery life, and voice recognition. Notably, they are much more like than non-owners to want a screen reader.

What do you think the key concerns of cell-phone based GPS functionality? Do you think there will always be a market for stand-alone GPS devices?

I think there will always be a market for a stand-alone GPS.  I like it talking me through directions and not having to have it up to my ear or eyes to know when or where to turn.  Yes they are getting better and better at having everything in one nice neat little package, but this is one thing where "smaller" is not necessarily better.

Jaime

Fortune Magazine just published a review of two feature-rich GPS devices, the Garmin Nuvi 880 and the TomTom GO 930, and then compared them to the GPS capability on the new iPhone.

The conclusion?

"In the end, just like I don't want my music to come from my TomTom, I'm not ready just yet to rely on my iPhone for directions. And when it comes to getting from point A to point B, nobody does it better than the Garmins and TomToms of the world. But they shouldn't break out the champagne just yet: Navigation on the iPhone and other cellphones will keep improving. Adding GPS functions to a phone makes a lot more sense than trying to pack a GPS device with all the features we're accustomed to having on our cell phone."

So, perhaps the stand-alone GPS device is not going away anytime soon.

See the story at: http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/08/technology/GPS_review.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008080805