Corporate Blog

Standalone navigation devices have ruled the GPS world since besting in-car systems in a knock-down drag-out brawl in the early 2000s.  These days, though, there’s a new contender on the scene—mobile-phone based navigation apps.

We envision a pay-per-view worthy slugfest, where the action will be fast and furious. To get you ready for the action, we want to present the tale of the tape. Like any smart fight fan, you can use this to get familiar with the contenders, and have the information you will need to predict a winner.

Portability

Today’s standalone GPS units don’t fit in a pocket. While they can be used in more than one car (perhaps the decisive factor in their win over in-car systems) they often need to be plugged in to operate, ruling them out for users who want to walk or bike to their destination.

Mobile navigation applications, however, can go wherever a cell phone can.  That means that users can get walking directions, and pull out their navigation device in situations where it may be awkward to pull out a large standalone unit.

The increased portability is a clear edge for mobile navigation.

Battery

Since standalone GPS devices are designed to be plugged into a car when in use, battery life is rarely a problem.

Mobile navigation solutions, on the other hand, often compete for precious battery life with email, games, and even the occasional phone call. Plug –in chargers work on car trips, but not bike rides or walks.

As people turn to their phones to perform more and more functions, low battery life can be a problem. With standalone GPS systems, this is not an issue, and that gives them the edge in this category.
 
GPS Accuracy

Standalone GPS units come from the factory with pre-loaded maps.  This works great at first, but can mean that the devices give lousy directions once the maps are out of date.

Mobile navigation devices are always attached to the network, which means users will always have up to date info, and never have to worry about being directed into a dead end.

Out of date standalone units do not misfire often, but when they do it can cause huge problems. The edge in this category has to go to mobile.

Price

Portable GPS devices cost an upfront fee that can range anywhere from $150 to over $500. Most mobile navigation apps charge a per month fee of $10. People usually keep their cell phones for around 2-3 years, so if someone was paying $10 a month for navigation the entire time they had their phone, the price would fall somewhere in the middle of the standalone devices.

Both pricing models have their merits, and it is hard to give either competitor the edge in this category.

Extra Features

Standalone navigation devices have traditionally offered few special features. Recently though, standalone GPS manufacturers have started offering features like traffic updates, weather information, and the ability to play music through the car radio. A lot of these features are only available in the higher end devices however.

Mobile navigation fully capitalizes on the functionality of the current smartphones, and this is seen in the extra features. Mobile navigation can snyc with your address book to give you quick directions to any contact who you may be meeting up with, and by tapping into the mobile web, mobile navigation users have access to incredible search features that let them search and read about businesses and events that they may want to use their device to navigate to.

While the basic navigational capabilities are comparable between a standalone GPS unit and a mobile GPS unit, the extra features available on mobile apps give it a clear edge over standalone systems. .

Fight Prediction

While standalone GPS systems will put up a fight (as the defending champs always seem to do), we see mobile navigation using the extra features available to land that knockout blow and come out on top.