Satnav in Google Android
When Google and a consortium of 47 telecom companies developed Android, a new operating system for mobile devices, it was a milestone in the growth of mobile telephony. The new software platform is a developer friendly system. Unlike the earlier systems Android offer lots of flexibility to design products and to expand applications. The birth of Android and its phenomenal growth gave further impetus to the prevailing competition in the market.
Now Google has come out with another offer causing excitement to its customers and anxiety to some others.
It is the offer of free satnav software for Android handsets. The news created flutter in the stock market. Share values of leading satnav manufacturers tumbled. There were widespread apprehensions about the future of dedicated satnav devices. The general perception among some market watchers was that the users of GPS will turn to mobile phone based devices in view of the free offer by Google and there are possibilities for the decline of stand alone GPS devices.
Google offered free satnav to Android mobile phones which will be supported by Google maps.
For those who opted for Google Android handsets it was really a bargain. They need not go for separate satnav devices, either handheld or car integrated as the mobile plays dual role. When other brands of mobile phones offer navigational devices as an additional feature involving cost escalation, Google Android’s offer is free as mentioned earlier. Google’s existing road map platform will provide turn by turn direction, automatic re-routing and 3D street views. Latest maps will be provided to Android mobile handsets periodically.
However, experts in satellite navigation and experienced travelers are skeptical about the efficiency of phone based satnav devices. They maintain that cell phone based navigational devices have certain limitations as far as its capacity and efficiency are concerned. Such mobile phone devises will not be able to replace and edge out dedicated satnav devices. The size of the mobile phone and its screen are insufficient to provide data to the users.
Dedicated satnav devices with special features are larger in sizes and their screens are adequate to show detailed routes, streets, landmarks etc.
Advanced lane guidance and spoken instructions are clear and specific. They have the ability to estimate the distances to be covered in case of re-routing. But mobile phone based systems cannot perform as perfectly as dedicated satnavs. Those who travel in unfamiliar terrains and who undertake expeditions cannot solely depend on mobile phone based satnav because of many deficiencies that are inherent in the systems. According to some travelers the mobile phone based GPS are unable to guide or monitor them in busy highways or intersections by identifying the correct lanes or turnings.
Mobile phones are primarily for communications and the satnav facility is an additional feature which can be termed as ’standby’ phenomenon.
It is therefore difficult for Android mobiles with satnav features to eliminate dedicated devices. However the satnav facility offered by the Google is definitely a boon to the mobile users. Mobile phone based satnav is a utility on which users can rely upon to a certain extent, even though it cannot be considered as a full fledged alternative to the dedicated navigational devices.
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