In the old days, when the military declassified GPS and allowed full public use via commercial signals, GPS devices were big clunky contraptions that consisted of a personal computer, a giant disk where map information was stored. and another monitor. Then came single-channel receivers and the first portable black-and-white map units that introduced the world to the many wonders of global positioning systems.
The technology was exclusively used by the military before it was declassified and having these same kind of James Bond capabilities attracted some of the people who were willing to shell out over $500 for a device whose sole function is to plot your coordinates on a digital map. But such price tags were enough in those days, in exchange for correct position information for cars, ships, planes, and other applications that need information about their coordinates.
This technology has come a long way since then, as GPS navigation devices eventually became smaller, more portable, more affordable, and packed with extra features. Other devices build on this popularity of GPS, for example by incorporating cell phone functionality with GPS capabilities. The result is continued competition between portable navigation devices and GPS-enabled GSM phones as to which technology will lead the way for GPS.
China changes the name of the ball game
China’s rise to economic power led to a flood of Chinese-made products and devices onto the global market, including GPS navigation devices. Online wholesalers are selling a wide selection of products and their entry into the global market has resulted in significant price drops on GPS devices. To keep prices low, wholesalers ship GPS products without pre-installed proprietary software or applications. However, they do offer unlocked GPS devices that can work with commercially available or perhaps open source GPS software.
Cell Phones With GPS Functionalities
Microchips that can provide GPS functionality to mobile phones were developed and first commercially introduced in 2004. Then, in 2005, the Federal Communications Commission issued a mandate called E911 that required phone manufacturers to include GPS receivers in their mobile phones. This law was essentially put in place to help emergency response units simply find the unit’s position during emergencies.
The growing popularity of smartphones and 3G mobile devices has prompted OEM GPS manufacturers and developers to come up with a wide selection of GPS applications that can be used with these cell phones. These applications bring a wide range of functionality to these phones, some of which were unique features of stand-alone portable navigation devices. These include turn-by-turn navigation information for users and a host of other features that GPS users may find extremely useful.
However, GPS phones lack the kind of screen resolution that GPS receivers installed in vehicles and other automobiles have. This is largely due to the screen size limitations that mobile phones have. Some users may find these screen restrictions difficult to use, especially when working with maps, and it is impractical to use it as a navigation device while driving.
The future of cell phones with GPS functionalities
The rise of GPS-enabled mobile phones has dealt a severe blow to the market for private navigation devices. Many people are taking advantage of the variety of applications available with smartphones, including the built-in GPS features that many smartphone users find it unrealistic to have a separate device just for GPS navigation.
This led manufacturers of GPS devices to incorporate a host of other features into these devices that go beyond their core functionality of getting satellite coordinates and giving directions. These added features include media player capabilities, Bluetooth, FM transmitters, Internet browsing, and other features and capabilities that would boost the commercial appeal of these GPS devices.
Except for its basic functionalities, a fine line divides the benefits between a personal GPS navigator and GPS phones. Both are setting trends for the future of GPS, but only buyer response to these trends will ultimately determine what will be the dominant GPS technology of the future.