The announcement of a GPS pack included in the next Android 2.0 (product from Google) has created the stockmarket to dump shares of companies like Tomtom.
Having gone through the demo of this Google GPS pack, I have following comments for discussion:
+ Over the air (off-board)
- "free" is quite relative if you have to access the info through mobile data: mobile data packs for connectivity to the cloud are not 'free or unlimited' in my first trial of nav4 free application, a 10 km drive through Brussels did cost me 11 Euros:); alternative networks like wifi are not really of use when on the move;
- the Google GPS software is thus a competitor for the applications on smartphones that take maps and info over the air; Nokia provides free mapping services, with a premium for voice guided traffic; a real free GPS over the air service is NAV4all, already existing a few years now, with good maps, speed traffic information, etc...
- battery life: wonder if you will be able to say by phone that you have arrived, if the battery fails because of huge networks usage;
+ On board
- Tomtom is for GPS, what Blackbery is for the e-mail: it is doing one thing very well; it is not because another device adds e-mail functionality that the Blackberry to remain in this example, will lose its competitive advantage
- Onboard maps are pre-loaded and thus enable to find the road, without a data connection; the most usefull time maps are used wen abroad, and except in profesional markets (transics) there are no specific data plans; Specific products exist like the mcguider that can be inserted(paid) on a smartphone 2MB SD card
+ Updating
The real trick consists in having the digital maps and information points reflect as much as possible the actual situation (new road, traffic info, point of interests); in digital mapping this is called 'the holy grail'. Companies like Teleatlas have partnered with other companies to arrive at faster update cycles with following tricks: GPS traces of thousands of users of devices like tomtommapshare provide lines like 'ants', and enable to extract updated road information; using crowdsourcing techniques from mast cell information, so called 'clouds of users' can be identified, and thereby accurate traffic information and alternative routes can be forecasted; links with public service changes of road signals. The most amazing partnership is the one Teletlas made last year with Google, just to capture user feedback and integrate" it in its cards. This means that in theory Teleatlas will have the same up to date information as the Google maps.
+ Good enough
In many respects there are not much rational reasons to indicate that Google has a truly revolutionary product; but it appeals to this vocal generation of digital natives, that are used to free, and used to 'good enough' (beta versions), but that want to provide feedback and be in a dialogue mode. In the coming years the product will probably be incrementally better. Google appeals to an emotional mode, and when this mode is combined with a personal product like a phone, it creates a part of this online identity one wants to take along.
+ Point of interests (POIs)
- What can make the true difference with existing GPS devices will be the underlying advertising model of Google. With very localised offers, based on the time and location range of the user, one will be able to receive local couponing for certain shops or restaurants; based on additonal features for example the weather conditions, there will be a coupon appearing for an icecream or for an umbrella, and this in your language. The free GPS will appear with vocal advertisements. And nbot to forget augmented reality
The impact on local shopping will be very important.
- More further away one can wonder what can be done with linked traffic information (Google cops for fining you the passing of speed limits), Google car (for advising on petrol, driving behaviour, and the next personalised Google car)...
+ In the value chain of GPS, there are other players than the box manufacturers (tomtom, mio,...), than the point of interest and info optimisation players (teleatlas,navteq) , and that are the actual satelite map information providers. In this respect, the launch of GEO-EYE satelitte in 2008, with according to certain sources commercial exclusivity for Google on these high resolution images, is the true step into a full integration of the mapping value chain and disintermediation. So far my weekend comments...and yours?
Having gone through the demo of this Google GPS pack, I have following comments for discussion:
+ Over the air (off-board)
- "free" is quite relative if you have to access the info through mobile data: mobile data packs for connectivity to the cloud are not 'free or unlimited' in my first trial of nav4 free application, a 10 km drive through Brussels did cost me 11 Euros:); alternative networks like wifi are not really of use when on the move;
- the Google GPS software is thus a competitor for the applications on smartphones that take maps and info over the air; Nokia provides free mapping services, with a premium for voice guided traffic; a real free GPS over the air service is NAV4all, already existing a few years now, with good maps, speed traffic information, etc...
- battery life: wonder if you will be able to say by phone that you have arrived, if the battery fails because of huge networks usage;
+ On board
- Tomtom is for GPS, what Blackbery is for the e-mail: it is doing one thing very well; it is not because another device adds e-mail functionality that the Blackberry to remain in this example, will lose its competitive advantage
- Onboard maps are pre-loaded and thus enable to find the road, without a data connection; the most usefull time maps are used wen abroad, and except in profesional markets (transics) there are no specific data plans; Specific products exist like the mcguider that can be inserted(paid) on a smartphone 2MB SD card
+ Updating
The real trick consists in having the digital maps and information points reflect as much as possible the actual situation (new road, traffic info, point of interests); in digital mapping this is called 'the holy grail'. Companies like Teleatlas have partnered with other companies to arrive at faster update cycles with following tricks: GPS traces of thousands of users of devices like tomtommapshare provide lines like 'ants', and enable to extract updated road information; using crowdsourcing techniques from mast cell information, so called 'clouds of users' can be identified, and thereby accurate traffic information and alternative routes can be forecasted; links with public service changes of road signals. The most amazing partnership is the one Teletlas made last year with Google, just to capture user feedback and integrate" it in its cards. This means that in theory Teleatlas will have the same up to date information as the Google maps.
+ Good enough
In many respects there are not much rational reasons to indicate that Google has a truly revolutionary product; but it appeals to this vocal generation of digital natives, that are used to free, and used to 'good enough' (beta versions), but that want to provide feedback and be in a dialogue mode. In the coming years the product will probably be incrementally better. Google appeals to an emotional mode, and when this mode is combined with a personal product like a phone, it creates a part of this online identity one wants to take along.
+ Point of interests (POIs)
- What can make the true difference with existing GPS devices will be the underlying advertising model of Google. With very localised offers, based on the time and location range of the user, one will be able to receive local couponing for certain shops or restaurants; based on additonal features for example the weather conditions, there will be a coupon appearing for an icecream or for an umbrella, and this in your language. The free GPS will appear with vocal advertisements. And nbot to forget augmented reality
The impact on local shopping will be very important.
- More further away one can wonder what can be done with linked traffic information (Google cops for fining you the passing of speed limits), Google car (for advising on petrol, driving behaviour, and the next personalised Google car)...
+ In the value chain of GPS, there are other players than the box manufacturers (tomtom, mio,...), than the point of interest and info optimisation players (teleatlas,navteq) , and that are the actual satelite map information providers. In this respect, the launch of GEO-EYE satelitte in 2008, with according to certain sources commercial exclusivity for Google on these high resolution images, is the true step into a full integration of the mapping value chain and disintermediation. So far my weekend comments...and yours?
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