iPhone has GPS....Yaawwnn...Next

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Wednesday, June 11. 2008

iPhone has GPS....Yaawwnn...Next

I've steadfastly delayed comment on the addition of a GPS chipset (Broadcom chip according to Seeking Alpha) to the iPhone because I said a year ago they blew it when the iPhone 1.0 launched without it. So, now we have the iPhone 2.0 with GPS. Sounds like Apple is working from the Microsoft playbook: Launch a less than full featured product at a high price; wait for customer complaints, drop the price and re-launch a second version with better features. I guess Steve Jobs is now a student of Bill Gates. This is news?

So in a year's time what do we know? While Apple still holds only about 5% of the overall smartphone market according to InformationWeek it has picked up share on a quarterly basis since its launch according to CNNMoney. It won't replace your Blackberry which already had GPS capabilities. Why switch? Are you looking for the "coolness" factor or is it that you really like AT&T's cell coverage and speed (that's supposed to be a joke).

Maybe I'm just not a "Mac guy." I can't get excited about this particular news because the market has moved well beyond just GPS as a feature. We are now talking about what we can do with it and more LBS services have already been announced and launched by other phone providers that makes the iPhone news anticlimactic. This is not to say that the iPhone is not disruptive technology. I think it is. But the addition of GPS would have been in keeping with Apple's "coolness factor" to facilitate social networking and other location aware services at its 1.0 launch...not a year later.

What's next? An iPhone icon showing you where the closest Apple store is located? I guess you'll need GPS for that!

Posted by Joe Francica in LBS, Navigation, Social Networking at 07:54 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0) |

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I think the most excitement over this is that fact that it's a cool device that normal people are happy to buy. Other devices with GPS chips in them have a narrow base. Blackberries appeal to the business class. N95?, Geeks.

Sure there is the are random cellphones with a gps chip in them, i.e. LG Rumor, but it's hard to impossible for joe schmoe to develop custom apps for them.

What you have with the iPhone is general use with a decent SDK. I think it's going to put geotagging and location based services in the hands of normal people and that's pretty big.

At least that's why I'm excited about it.

#1 Eric Moritz (Link) on 2008-06-11 12:27 (Reply)

yep, you and every other analyst, writer yadayada on the planet noted that they blew it with no GPS. Although you need to consider that most mobile device users have no idea how to get photos off their device... you think these same users will have no trouble using the GPS capabilities?? agreed totally that this isn't rocket science.. heck, I've had a GPS-enabled smartphone for more than 2 years, however, the Apple brand will bring these capabilities to the mass market which is good for everyone involved in location technologies

#2 glenn letham (Link) on 2008-06-11 13:12 (Reply)

Joe -

This actually is a big deal. This further mainstreams GPS and LBS technologies - and at half the price.

Maybe you are just upset because, as you have mentioned in past posts, you own Garmin stock which has taken a beating this year. It is now down 10% since the iPhone announcement and will probably head lower. Garmin has invested a lot in its iPhone ripoff the "nuvifone" which now looks outdated.

By the way, you missed some of the biggest iPhone news - the iPhone camera now automatically geo-tags all photos. Plus, social networking and blogging such as Loopt and Twitter will also have new iPhone applications with automatic geo-tagging.

Why are you upset that this took an extra year? Hey, the first iPod didn't have video either and Google didn't get maps for years. And now they both dominate those markets. Better late (and great) than never.

#3 Brian (Link) on 2008-06-11 17:01 (Reply)

Brian...I think you missed my point...you must be reading other people's blogs who seem to think I'm upset. My point is simply that Apple should have included GPS a year ago and stepped out as a leader in location-based service at that time. As an innovative company, I believed that Apple had the opportunity to drive the market for LBS apps to its most loyal crowd...the 18-25 demographic that loves Apple technology, especially in location-based social networking. Yes, they did a deal with Skyhook which was a truly good step for LBS apps but as a manufacturer of one of the most "disruptive" converged devices I also believed that at the price point at which it launched, a GPS chipset should have been included. I don't think they were trying to reduce the BOM because it would have been a cheap move. So, now, a year later, the mass media is in love with the iPhone w/GPS. To me, that's just not news. Everyone else can fawn all over them, but it is an anticlimatic move and Apple is playing catchup. I also disagree with your assessment that they are dominating the market. They are not. My blog post today clearly referenced their minuscule market share for smartphones. I think Apple allowed RIM a better market position by not including GPS in 1.0. Their deal with AT&T also has delayed their ability to garner faster browser load times. But yes, the 3G technology they have now with 2.0 will be well received and with the lower price they are now poised to make even more of an impact on the smartphone market. So, if you think that geotagging is what will drive people to buy an iPhone, I would disagree. It's just a nice feature that other phones will have as well. But the bottom line is...have you bought an iPhone?

#3.1 Joe Francica (Link) on 2008-06-11 18:04 (Reply)

No, I have not bought an iPhone 3G. But only because it hasn't been released yet. But I will have one July 11.

My bottom line is that you are biased. You have stated previously that you own stock in Garmin which now competes with Apple. Garmin has lost 10% since the iPhone with GPS announcement and has lost 50% YTD. You have a direct interest in minimizing the impact of the iPhone having GPS capabilities.

By the way, you are very inaccurate to state that Apple has "minuscule market share for smartphones" or that "Apple still holds only about 5% of the overall smartphone market". In fact, as you know, Apple has taken 20-25% of the smartphone market virtually overnight. Garmin still has 0%.

Full disclosure, I own no stock, interest or investments in any of these companies.

#3.1.1 Brian on 2008-06-12 10:54 (Reply)

understand the disappointement over the year late thing, but the big deal is that an iphone is orders of magnitude better than a...i can't even remember the name of the thing you mentioned.

the iphone's google maps are incredible, and they're getting better all the time, it seems. i was shocked the first time i saw gmaps on an iphone. i bet most people are. gps in and of itself is no big deal, but gps on an incredible display device is.

exciting times for us mapper folks, methinks.

#4 Peter on 2008-06-11 19:23 (Reply)

How many of you have tried to get an LBS app onto consumer phones? Apple could, if they used the iTunes model, provide geo developers with a sales and distribution channel and a way around the "closed shop" mobile networks. I'll take that over new hardware any day! Sweet phone, continues the mantra of keeping complexity away from the user, and at an OK price point. Network locking is a bad, bad thing though.

#5 Peter Barnes on 2008-06-12 09:08 (Reply)

CNET's posts have gone, this one hasn't...
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9966086-1.html

#5.1 Peter Barnes on 2008-06-12 09:28 (Reply)

I'm not an iPhone user, nor do I plan on getting one in the near term (my simple cellphone and desktop Linux machine still seem to fill the bill). However, while I'd agree that the technical capabilities of the new iPhone are nothing genuinely innovative, its combination of capabilities--delivered via an ultra-clear display and intuitive, richly haptic interface--is unprecedented. It's difficult to overstate the importance of these interface qualities in a consumer electronics device.

"Coolness" factor (which I take to mean how the device plays on consumers' desires, fears, and identity) no doubt also plays a role, but that's true for all portable consumer electronics. Arguably no one buys them solely on the basis of function--but that doesn't answer the question of why some are more popularly judged "cool" than others.

Jobs may well be taking a page from the Gates playbook, but I'd say he's managed to rework into a truly formidable strategy. Out of the 50 or so college undergrads I've taught over the last year, few of them had even heard of a "Zune," all of them had heard of the "iPhone," and the majority owned an "iPod" (though some were "anti-Jobs" or "anti-Apple"). From an empirical perspective, they're doing something right.

#6 Lane DeNicola (Link) on 2008-06-12 09:17 (Reply)

Lane: Three of my son's are in their 20's and they all agreed that an iPod was the best gift possible for my 14-year old. So, be it. I own and use regularly an iPod Nano and love it. But, I bought a Zune for my wife for mother's day. Reason: More features...better price. Now, my mantra in marketing is "better marketing beats a better product...always." Apple wins that battle every time...but I'm just not ready to fawn over everything Apple introduces (ala the current media frenzy) and will always try to shop intelligently. Check out the thoughts of David Pogue of the New York Times on "what could have been" for the new iPhone.

#6.1 Joe Francica (Link) on 2008-06-13 11:48 (Reply)

he, he, he.... Funny what people will argue over. I swore I wouldn't buy a smart phone till it had a camera, gps, could connect to my work & personal email, and could play music. One device. I still have a cell phone I can talk on, a camera that takes pictures, an Ipod for running, and a GeoXT for field mapping.
Iphone "mapping" still seems like a toy to me, I won't spend the $200 for worse cell service & slow internet.
Besides, everyone I know with an Iphone is either a) a college girl/text messaging/Facebook maniac, b) a mac user/graphic designer or c) a Jones.
I'm with Joe, the new iphone is a yawn and not for me.

#7 Michelle on 2008-06-12 14:07 (Reply)

Dear Joe,

I am shocked and suprised to see your reaction to iPhone gps. The huge step forward here, is that this is not phone or 'PND" but a powerful handheld computer, supported by thousands of the most creative programmers on the planet. I am looking forward to the forthcoming explosion of location-aware apps and services that will finally ignite a commercial boom in an industry that has for the most part been gazing at it's own navel, worrying about the low take rate and high churn for boring and mediocre carrier based services.

Nokia and Google should likewise be acknowledged and commended for their support of easily programmable devices and location services. By the way at least 20 of the top 50 award winning Android apps are location based. I expect that many of these will appear simultaneously on iPhones if not sooner.

#8 Mike Liebhold (Link) on 2008-06-12 14:36 (Reply)

Mike...first, I have no doubt that the iPhone can be considered "disruptive technology" to not only the cellular carriers but the Internet space as well. My very narrowly focused point about the iPhone is that I thought is was a misstep by Apple not to add it to v1.0 and an afterthought in v2.0. But, with a more open platform, I also have no doubt that more LBS-apps will be forthcoming for the iPhone that could catapult it into the ether beyond other such phones. But, for now, it is not a market leader for smartphones, and Blackberry will still have the edge in this space for a long time due to its current market position and because it added GPS a long time ago.

#8.1 Joe Francica (Link) on 2008-06-13 11:41 (Reply)

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