GPS is a pretty cool system, especially having it available to the public instead of reserved for industry or governments. It has a ton of applications, with just a few examples off the top of my head:

  • tracking a package in real time
  • navigation during travels on the road, the ground, or the water
  • tracking a bus in real time to help with connections
  • geocoding photos

I’ve used an in-car GPS once in a rental car, which worked okay. But for Christmas, my Dad bought a famed TomTom, which I got to play around with today.

My main qualm with GPS has been it’s slow market penetration. The economies of scale have not exactly taken place, and it’s due to having a very fluid and expansive market with crappy products. When I say expansive market, I mean all the manufacturer’s products are so different and incorporate so many variables that it’s difficult for the consumer to easily choose between one or the other.

For example, some products require a subscription, some rely on expensive map upgrades, while others are just very expensive from the get go. Some are mobile, some are in car - some have expansion capabilities, some can play MP3s, some have Bluetooth, etc! It’s almost as bad as the cell phone industry, except less people need a GPS as much as they need a phone.

And yes, the products themselves are cool. But they sure aren’t easy to use for your regular Joe. Let alone being pretty. This is all about user experience and it’s something that Apple has been forcing the tech industry to raise the bar in every year since it’s inception. It’s about creating a product that’s not only easy to use, but fun too! Most GPS fail miserably on this mark.

The TomTom is apparently one of the best in this regard. And while I give it props compared to others I’ve seen, it still wasn’t that great. Yes, it had a nice menu system and UI overall, in a small portable touchscreen piece of hardware, but it’s maps really sucked. And the maps are the single most important thing in a GPS! (It also had some bad lag, making me think the engineers should improve system efficiency or throw in a faster processor).

So, to fix the UI problem, I figured the GPS market should follow the PC market - where multiple manufacturers create a bunch of hardware, while a few players create some nice software. If the biggest problem is maps, then why not get some main players in there who have some experience with maps: Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Then, people have a recognizable, easy to navigate mapping interface for both their portable GPS needs and online maps via the web.

Google has already worked on adapting their maps to an in-car GPS, so it wouldn’t be hard to expand from there. This would open up new sources of revenue for the big three, just like how Microsoft gets a cut for providing the OS for most PCs. It would also improve the interface and overall experience for GPS users, driving demand, and lowering prices.

It’s time to take the next step in GPS.

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