Apple, Google Just Killed Portable GPS Devices

One big reason to keep using a dedicated GPS is offline support—as far as I know, both iOS and Android require an internet connection to calculate a route, so if you don't have cell service, you're out of luck. Since dedicated GPS devices have everything locally, they just do all that work without having to talk to a server.

Boats. Airplanes. Backpackers. Campers. Adventurers. People who need routes anywhere the network isn't real or good enough.<p>But mom? Yeah, she's not going to struggle with a Garmin or try to get the piece of shit in her car dash to work.<p>Thank you Google!

And yet, standalone GPS systems are still absurdly expensive. I was looking at a handheld system with topological map support for hiking this summer, and the Garmin options basically <i>start</i> at $250 - and don't even include the maps, which are $100 on their own.<p>Motorcycle GPS? $700 please.<p>None of Garmin's standalone GPS products are remotely as capable as a free-on-contract Android smartphone, but they cost as much as an unsubsidized high-end handset. And you have to keep paying every year for updated maps.

Convergence happens when an available device is good enough to replace a purpose-built specialized device.

I've got both an Android phone (Galaxy Nexus) and a Garmin in my car. The Android has a smaller screen and more up to date maps. The Garmin shows the maps better (spatial awareness) and its instructions are better, plus more complete when roads do things like fork. Additionally I can actually read the Garmin in sunshine while wearing sunglasses - something that is considerably harder for the Android.<p>But another generation or two of displays and they'll no longer be an issue. I don't hold out much hope for the friendliness of Google's map display and instructions, but suspect most people won't care, and certainly won't care enough to fork our for a PND.<p>It is interesting to see how companies are responding. Garmin are now letting their devices cooperate with your phone with SmartLink: <a href="http://gpstracklog.com/2012/06/garmin-smartphone-link-review.html" rel="nofollow">http://gpstracklog.com/2012/06/garmin-smartphone-link-review...</a><p>Also interesting is the Parrot Asteroid. The concept is great - a head unit running Android - but the implementation is truly awful. <a href="http://www.parrot.com/usa/products/bluetooth-hands-free-car-kits/parrot-asteroid" rel="nofollow">http://www.parrot.com/usa/products/bluetooth-hands-free-car-...</a>

Well... the article focuses on the car nav units. I've started using my phone with Waze for car navigation and it works great. So much better than the Nuvi I used prior. But "Portable GPS Devices" are used for more things than car nav. As much as I love my phone, it is no where near as rugged as my DeLorme GPS. When I'm out in the woods hiking or looking for a geocache, I'm not reaching for my phone.

I love the Navigation app on my Android, but I can use up my monthly data allotment in one day. Until I get unlimited data or Navigation stops overriding my low bandwidth settings, I'll continue to use my TomTom (terrible UI by comparison, but good enough directions).

I've only ever used a gps device in a rental car, and that hasn't changed since owning an android phone, so I imagine that as long as these gps manufacturers continue close ties with rental agencies they will continue to live on.

and nokia had killed the alarm clock in late 90s for me.

There are still GPS applications out there the phone isn't so great. Number one on the list is fitness. Number two I'd say is precision. My Garmin owns the phone in that regard, but really who cares except for mappers and cachers, and half the cachers will just use their phones anyway.<p>"Just killed" is a bit extreme. How about "have been killing for the past three years and are continuing to kill now"? But, yes, the standard GPS is going the way of the standard PnS camera.

No, they have killed them years ago but maybe this wasn't obvious up until now. It takes time to work out deficiencies and for the market to react. Remember this when the next time someone is arguing that even though Product X is looking less and less relevant, "it's far from being dead, in fact, it's selling more than ever."

Will ios6 support offline navigation? Thats one of the killer features currently missing on Android as well.

This will work fine in Europe as long as we stay in our own country. The prohibitive rooming costs make us all turn off data when we cross the border. Long life to GPS devices over here!

Android's Navigation app first came out a year or so ago and since them I've used it during travel in regions where a network is available. Odd that this is still considered news.

Funny, I just said the same thing here a few days ago. <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4079010" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4079010</a>

1) Offline support 2) Devices, maybe, but companies, no. In iOS 6, in very very small print, it says "data provided by TomTom"