Apple, Google Just Killed Portable GPS Devices • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple, Google Just Killed Portable GPS Devices

#31

Post by r00fus » Tue, Jun 12, 2012, 8:31 PM UTC

huggyface wrote: post #5

SlipperySlope wrote: post #2

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

"Good enough" being a compound factor. The best common smartphone (e.g. GS III / iPhone 4S) still pale compared to a decent P&S, but the convenience of being able to share/upload/utilize those photos overcomes the imaging deficiency. Just thought it was worth mentioning that. I love my T2i, but most of the time I leave it sidelined simply because it's such a PITA -- relative to a smartphone -- dealing with the photos…

I think the smartphone has effectively killed the P&S for me and other folks in similar ages in my circles.

It used to be a) DSLR for events + b) P&S for hiking/casual/video. But now the (b) slot is completely replaced by my iPhone. I haven't replaced the DSLR since 2004 (O.G. rebel + nifty fifty), but will probably replace that before I ever consider getting another P&S camera.

Re: Apple, Google Just Killed Portable GPS Devices

#32

Post by rogerbinns » Tue, Jun 12, 2012, 8:33 PM UTC

gamble wrote: post #18

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 start at $250 - and don't even include the maps, which are $100 on their own. Motorcycle GPS? $700 please. None of Garmin's standalone GPS products are remotely as capable as a free-on-contract Android smartphone, but they cost as much a…

Note that motorbike GPS are ruggedized and waterproof - something that doesn't apply to the regular ones. They also have to work when being used with gloves not fingers, and are a smaller market. An Android phone isn't particularly comparable.

They do include lifetime maps with many car models these days (look for LMT after the model number for lifetime maps and traffic).

For some reason Garmin do have a perverse business model for the handheld units. I think they are trying to do the whole razor (gps) and blades (maps) model, but instead consumers are routing around this by just not buying their products. What Garmin should be doing is encouraging their customers to be doing as much mapping as possible rather than pricing them out of it.

Re: Apple, Google Just Killed Portable GPS Devices

#33

Post by ChuckMcM » Tue, Jun 12, 2012, 8:44 PM UTC

kyleslattery wrote: post #4

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.

Exactly. Urban navigation, solid, universal navigation, no so much. What is worse is that navigation 'sketchyness' from the likes of signal drop outs. Trying to use my Nexus to navigate from Sacramento CA to San Jose, several complete blackouts along the way, map just goes blank.

And of course its a huge data consumer if its throwing map tiles at you constantly. Clearly local storage is so cheap and geo data changes so slowly that it seems ridiculous that the phone doesn't just keep a cache and save you the net charges but that doesn't seem to be in the plans.

Re: Apple, Google Just Killed Portable GPS Devices

#34

Post by beej71 » Wed, Jun 13, 2012, 6:52 PM UTC

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.

"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.