Google unveils free turn-by-turn directions for Android devices

what was that loud crash?

...oh... it's garmin and tomtom's stock hitting the ground.

 

LOL! Why would this hurt TomTom and Garmin? After all, this is only for Android devices. I doubt the iPhone will get it since Apple is getting ready to launch their own maps. It will be several years and several lawsuits before you see Android take over Palm, Blackberry, Symbian, Apple, etc. if ever. Plus, not everyone finds a turn-by-turn app on your phone very convenient, due to the fact that incoming calls and music players are hard to use while navigating at the same time. Those people will find that having a dedicated GPS unit is better. So yeah, my point is for Garmin and TomTom to suffer from this it will take much more than Google Navigator being free.

 

Garmin dropped about 16% today. TomTom dropped 21%. This news certainly didn't help them.

But I do agree with you on the fact that a turn-by-turn app isn't appealing to everyone to meet their GPS needs. The dedicated GPS devices will remain the best option for backpacking, taxi drivers, etc. But this google app will satisfy the casual GPS user, like myself, who might use it once or twice a month.

 

Re: Will be available for IPhone too.

CNET notes that Google and Apple are in fact working to bring the application to the iPhone, although no details of a launch timeframe have been released.

"However, Google is working with Apple on bringing it to the iPhone, and it's not ruling out licensing the software to makers of portable navigation devices used in cars throughout the world, said Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google for mobile and developers. The process involving Apple is slightly different from the usual App Store submission process, because Maps is a built-in iPhone application, he said."

For me, I still prefer to have a device in my car, and keep my phone mobile for other uses.

However, the google appls does have some nice unique features, different from Garmin.

Look here for a video demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXK4jKN_jY&feature=player_embedded

Probably will be an increase in car accidents though.....

 

A standalone GPS has several solid advantages:

1. Larger Screen than is practical on a phone.
2. One time fee. Google may not charge for the app, but a data plan is required for the app to work. Yes, you have to pay for map updates, but updating maps is hardly something you need to do very often.
3. Device can stay in your car, so there's no forgetting it.

 

Yes it does, however I had an experience recently that will prevent me from ever giving up my Google Maps on my little cellphone screen.

We were recently in a mountain lodge in the Smoky Mountains, near Gatlinburg. We arrived real late due to a landslide blocking I40. The Lodge was located up through some mountain roads, sas soon as we were about to turn from the main highway, the car's navigation system announced "you are about to enter an area were turn by turn navigation is not possible, please follow the the direction of the arrow". Not only was following the direction of the arrow difficult, it was not very accurate going up the turns, the road forked many times.

Throughout all of the 2.5 miles of twisting and turning up a steep incline, Google Map on my cell phone gave pinpoint accuracy on every hairpin turn and brought us right to the lodge.

My husband, who thinks I have too many "unnecessary things" on my phone, became a fan of Google Maps after he saw the road in daylight. Every place we went after he set the car's navigation, he always asked me "What does your Google say?".

The same situtation happened in trying to find a restaurant in Gatlinburg, the car's system quit and Google Maps brought us right to it.

I for one, am looking forward to Google's Turn-By-Turn.

 

That's great, but I've been to plenty of ski areas where cell coverage is nearly non-existent and a real GPS works fine.