The GPS and Smartphones: Reinventing the Tomtom

How many times have you had that annoying voice tell you that you've just missed your left turn, but then it very kindly recorrects and adjusts for your missed turn and tells you how to get to that Krispy Kreme in Richmond that you just need to have? Or maybe that was just me, but most people who have GPS/portable navigation systems in their cars have managed to settle down to having a small, inexpensive TomTom or other form of nav system that sits on their dashboard and is kind of small and petite.

While these things are incredibly valuable for when you're lost somewhere, the fact is that the most recent iPhone and Smartphone is about to make GPS systems in cars obsolete. Yup, you read that right. Obsolete. In fact, the current iPhone has a function that allows you to find out just about your exact location, due to a nicely-tuned program with Google maps in that little beauty. The current iPhone will triangulate your position with a ton of different Wi-Fi hotspots in the area and attempt to pinpoint your location from there. Thing are about to get even more complicated in the business market, though, as the brand new Apple iPhone, the one that Steve Jobs is going to reveal in just a few days, is going to have an entire GPS system right inside that little machine that would all but destroy the market for GPS systems.

Not that the iPhone didn't have enough bells and whistles to really get your techno-motor going, but with this nice little GPS system, you'll be able to find out where you need to go no matter what way you're traveling. This way, if you're a pedestrian who's trying to figure out where to go, rest assured that your iPhone can tell you. The new smartphone is also amazing in it’s navigation system.

And if that isn't good enough for you, apparently, these plans have officially scared the life out of the manufacturers of the TomToms, S-Dals and many other GPS automotive navigation systems. The fact that the iPhone is going to be with their customer all the time will essentially eliminate the need for a dash-board navigational system, since they can just pull it up on their phone and keep driving, which, many people still seem to do.

The only problem with this entire thing will be having people learn how to adjust to the smaller screen of the iPhone without creating an unneeded distraction while driving. The smartphone offers a better screen that can make it easier to use.