GPS, thumb up or down? Claudia Sonea

Since 1983 when President Ronald Reagan made GPS available for free for civilian use, drivers worldwide are gaining time and in a society where life is lived in the fast lane that is vital. The GPS market is dominated by TomTom and Gamin with a strong competition coming from the cell phones industry. Yet, many analysts say it is slightly possible for drivers to switch to cell phone mapping as it is not as practicable as one might think. The first quarter revenue of TomTom was down 83 percent, from $70 million last year to $12 million this year. MiTAC International Corp (Taiwan producer of the Navman and Mio brands) and Gamin, the other 2 top GPS manufacturers, have yet to publish their profit, but the forecast isn't favorable and most likely will show a drop. As it is, GPS market is shadowed by a dark cloud and the stand-alone global-positioning systems might become common goods, rather then a luxury as it was when they were released on the market at a price of $500. TomTom Chief Executive Harold Goddijn showed no preoccupation for consumers' interest into GPS and forecasted a 50 percent of drivers to purchase it and due to the fact that the excess inventory was sold, prices will be stabilized. They will continue to focus on the basic navigation and a simple interface. They preferred to update their products like sharing map corrections or collect real-time data about traffic conditions through the GPS chips introduced in cell phones. In spite of the drop in revenue, they seem sure to come to an agreement with digital mapmaker Tele Atlas NV that would give them an advantage on the market, now led by Gamin Ltd. due to a spectrum of products like for aviation and marine navigation and the new integration of AOL's MapQuest into its GPS devices. Nokia Corp., Sony Inc., Google Inc. and probably Apple seem to be the next best competition with newer invention like mapping instructions based on weather conditions and time travel. Nevertheless, for us drivers it's a drag to use the cell phone in our travels and the fact that GPS is easier to use and read makes us more inclined to purchase it. It is even a good deal taking into account the low prices. Now, if they only struggle harder to vary the products!

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080425/ap_on_hi_te/gps_challenge;_ylt=Au..Vz.Z2erZpxjxIej_tSSs0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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edited by Tatiana Kucharikova