How iPhone 3G Can Put GPS Business Out of Business

What the iPhone 3G Needs to Put Garmin and TomTom Out of the GPS Business: Instant Analysis

So now we know for sure that the new iPhone 3G will come power-packed with real GPS functionality. Sure, your old iPhone can roughly tag your location on a map through the clever use of cell tower triangulation, but most people already know where they are at any given moment. The true power of a GPS device is finding where you’re going next. And if Steve Jobs’ demo today was any indication, stand-alone nav unit makers like Magellan and TomTom really do have every reason to be “scared [expletive-]less.”

To be sure, the iPhone isn’t even close to the first cellphone with built-in GPS. But its large screen size, touchscreen capabilities and landscape display make it a natural stand-in for your car’s Garmin unit. There are just two missing pieces keeping the iPhone from rocking your dashboard. And we have every reason to believe that both are on the way.

First: a car dock. While Jobs made no hints to the existence of any such products from his company, there are likely a dozen Apple accessory makers (who surely were watching today’s keynote with as much anticipation as we were), who have already put in factory orders. After all, it’s not that difficult to mold a piece a plastic to a suction cup. And Apple still has time to unleash its own mount before the product’s July 11 release date.

Second: decent navigation software. After all, that overhead Google Maps view can only take you so far. Luckly for Apple (and us), their SDK is in the wild, along with all the tools needed for programs to latch onto the GPS for location-based tracking. Jobs made this very clear. And while he didn’t specifically say that this functionality could be used to create navigation software, the subtext was crystal clear.

Now, because of the nature of the Apple SDK and the iTunes App Store, it wouldn’t be a surprise if multiple companies put out their own takes on the drive-by iPhone. Some may cost money, but others will almost surely be free. This market-based approach will also likely keep you from paying one cent to use after an initial purchase—a chief killing point of many cellphone-based navigation programs. After all, just because you want to find your way around town doesn’t mean you want to pay $6.99 per month for the privilege. —Seth Porges