Impact of Google Navigation Seen at CES
I’ve had my head in geodesign this week but did notice some announcements that I have to believe relate to Google recent move into the phone-based satnav space.
TomTom launched a stripped down $100 standalone device, the Ease. That was the launch price of the TomTom iPhone app. That app won an Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Award Honoree award at the show.
Tthe company has changed its “pay for update” policy for some of its older devices.
Garmin announced nothing new for auto satnav at CES save ecoroute - a hardware box that beams car stats to a bluetooth device, but did offer updates to golf and motorcycle devices. Oh, and you can record your own voice for your unit via a free download (PC World).
On the other hand, Google’s app is finally seeing some pushback. I noted when it launched the issues with data and was surprised how few others found them an issue despite their widespread coverage in the press. BusinessWeek’s Rich Jaroslovsky details errors in determining his location and data errors.
