Garmin Future

Ahh, another ham/geek of the old days. I'll bet you were. I run a WinLink station out of our EOC. I remember getting such a chuckle out of the "new" fax machines. We'd been doing that with ham radio for years. Then it was "cellular". Hams figured that with VHF/UHF years earlier. GPS - We called it fox hunting essentially. Now the Internet. So glad AlGore invented it for all of our benefit.

I remember fighting with our mainframe "Gurus" who SWORE PC's were a flash and TCP/IP could NOT sustain adequate bandwidth to deliver their text data.

Yep, learned a few things since 1974. But NOW, I think I've got it all.

N0FGN

75 and wouldn't leave home without my do it all iPhone. No more carrying a separate camera, a GPS and a MP3 player and a cell phoner, and on top of that I can read my e-mail and surf the internet with it.

Is that the generation gap you were thinking of?

Mirror of what I heard. SNA with SDLC was the only reliable way to move data around! Just upload your data through your "reader" and we'll send it back to your "punch". Bleah.

I have apps that i can look up rests. and gas stations with far less key strokes or typing. But I like the gps and it's ability as a on going map and the routes that I can enter. I like both.

Hi Roy,
I am perplexed by corporate strategists, including Garmin. The phones are really too small for me I have had an Android Ally for a few days and it is going back. The net book format is better for me.

I think that Android gets GPS signal and helps it with accelerometer data. The position from cell phone tower is also factored in. The Samsung Android net book with NO Cell phone seems to have an privacy advantage.

NO-texting while driving is a war that will be lost, IMHO. (They allow Haz-Mat drivers to text in some states where it is illegal for others.)

Context sensitive POIs are the next thing. GPSs are not needed for desk tops. POI lists are good for consumers and sales folk, but the GPS and the relevant POI must evolve a symbiotic future. Contexts are personal, the hardware for transportation will become less personal, more generic.

Look for GPSs with I-pods like docking stations some time soon.

This blog wizard has to go make some money. L8r
CactusMitch

I'm not going to write you off just because you're slightly older than me. Even old dogs can learn new tricks! So let me enlighten you.

Well then, all he has to do is purchase a car charger (<$10) and the problem is solved. Even a Garmin will die within a few hours if you use it without a charger.

These statements seem to conflict. If you already own 3 smartphones then why would you need to pay an "extra $15 mo for GPS service?" Don't you already have one or more data plans for your 3 smartphones? Regardless, you don't even need a data plan for some gps apps. I purchased CoPilot for $5 and it stores all of the maps on the phone so I can navigate without cell coverage.

You can multitask on android phones. So you could indeed do all of the above while still talking on your phone.

At the end of the day there's no right or wrong answer to this issue. If you like using a dedicated gps device then more power to you. All I know is that every day the smartphone gps apps are getting better. You can't say the thing about Garmin.

Each side has its proponents that swear the other is "out of touch with reality." On one side we see the movement toward convergence and on the other we have those that are passionate about separate devices.

Is there a shift coming? Yes, I believe so, but then I look to those that swore by this time no one would be using traditional hardwired telephones by the end of 2008.

As for me, I have no need for a smartphone so individual devices work for me. Am I in the workforce? Yes, and having carried a smartphone in the past, I have no desire to carry one now. I look at it as an invasion on my time as it allows anyone to ask me to take action on something they feel is important but, when viewed in context, is nothing that has to be handled "right this instant." If they want me, they can contact me on my terms - not theirs. (And since when is it selfish to demand you meet my requirements?)

Smartphones will continue to evolve, just as the PC has evolved. Many of the objections over pricing will be mitigated by either increasing functionality or price reductions and increased options such as wifi.

Very interesting thread here. I don't care to much for smartphones much, but I travel with a netbook and a small phone. The thing is my Luddite habits aren't tomorrows market. Folks are buying up these smart phones like they are candybars. Shacks a lot of peoiple don't even bother owning a landline. The people will fine the smart adaquit to the tasks of navigating particularly if they haven't owned and used a good GPS before .. In the mean time machines like the Garmin get lousier and less feature rich folks will be less tempted to buy a machine that cost 5 dollars for a new map rather than 50 or 70 bucks..
on top of price of their navigator.

Wrong! Where does this information come from?

I can't get over all the people here that think that in order to use the GPS on a smart phone (in my case an iPhone) that you need to pay a subscription fee or that you can only use it using a data plan. This information is wrong.

I use TomTom on my iPhone.

It will cost me an extra $10 a month to use the gps feature on my "almost smart" phone, a T Mobile Tap. To use some of the other features, like email, another $10 a month. So I don't use them and I don't miss them. Even at home, I only check my email 5 times a week, and facebook twice a week. And I'm happy!

Even though I can't carry it in my pocket, I'd rather watch a movie on my home thater and listen to it with surround sound at home, rather than on a "phone" that fits in my pocket, but I digress!

master of none. I'm afraid the more convergence we get, the more more functionality we'll lose. Assuming there is demand, maybe stand alone devices will survive next to do it all devices. That way you can choose ala carte which items you need more functionality. The hole in that theory is that functionality seems to be disappearing from stand alone GPS designs.

I tried Google Maps on my Nexus when they came out, and while it was good the flexibility of my Nuvi still won me over and I finally broke down for the lifetime update. What I like is the ability to load custom sets of POI's such as BBQ joints, WalMarts etc, RLC etc. While I guess it would be possible to do it with GMaps, it's far simpler on the Nuvi. Just download whatever floats your boat, transfer to GPS and be on your way.

That's another reason why I don't care much for the "featuritis" in phones or other devices. I want a phone for an emergency, as you said, to make phone calls and receive them in my own terms. Nothing wrong with that..... it is yours, you pay for it and it is your time. I even went as far as setting up custom ring-tones for everyone in my address book, so the default (regular) ring is 3 seconds of silence. Advertisers and people who managed to find out my number (without me giving it to them)NEVER ring. This is different than setting the phone to "silent" as then no one gets through
I can't understand the "need" of some people (specially younger people) to be available 24/7, but it is their choice and I respect it.

I want a device that it is great at its intended function, not average at many. It comes down to personal preference in the end. No right or wrong way to do things. I'm glad to see a 75 year old posted above saying he likes an "all in one" device. I'm 47 and prefer stand-alone products.

Oh... and I still keep a regular/analog wired phone in my house. It is the only one that works in a blackout after the batteries in the UPSs die (after a couple of hours).

Not wrong for other phones. I pay $39.99 for my phone, without a data plan, and data is mandatory for the iPhone (which is why I won't upgrade to one for $18). Adding a data plan shows as $15.00 extra a month at the AT&T site. The GPS is disabled by AT&T in my phone and I need to buy their software to activate it (or pay someone to unlock the phone--same thing), and ALSO get the data plan. No thanks. I won't be paying $15 extra a month for my phone plus the program, when my Garmin is paid for and has a bigger screen (and custom POIs and fun stuff). I'd upgrade to their iPhone for $18 +2yr.contract if they throw the data plan in for free. We know that's not happening since that's where they make the big bucks.

Don't assume everyone has an iPhone. You are already paying for a data plan anyways.