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[mswebb]

Will iPhone app mean the end of one-function devices?
In a word; no. Not everyone has an iPhone. Not even close.
My speculation is that TomTom will be putting a fairly high price tag on the maps making a cheap, single use device attractive. They aren't going to let the iPhone app cannibalize sales of devices to any large extent.
Many people buy these devices for other people to use. Gifts for family members, etc. An iPhone app just isn't the same thing in this regard.

[jehrler_MW]

One question that intrigues me is whether the Tom Tom holder will incorporate a compass so that iPhone 3G users will be able to have a similar turn by turn experience as those with the 3G S.

[larry4449]

My question is will apple upgrade the ipod touch with a GPS chip this fall, sure would be nice.

[caduceus]

I'm more concerned about the quality of the maps. I have a TomTom GPS, and recently bought "new" maps (wish I hadn't now that I hear about the iPhone app). It literally took them years to have my street on their map... google maps were much more current. According to TomTom, my neighbors and I lived in a forest until just recently... now we finally have our streets on their maps. I hope we have the option of using google maps with turn by turn tracking and directions. These GPS companies have been making a lot of money on people upgrading maps over the years... that business model will die if "connected" devices like iPhone and other smartphone start being the hardware.
They will have to decide whether they are going to try to make money on hardware, maps, or software... presumably there will be a lot of competition in the software division if Apple opens up the GPS functionality to all comers.

[bigh]

There are many of us who prefer dedicated devices. If one goes bad or gets lost, you don't lose the rest. That said, I'll probably choose this app over a dedicated device because I can still use a map if necessary, and I already have the iPhone (with Pandora) located nicely in my vehicle.

[dbutenhof]

I use a Canon GL2 for video. The iPhone G3 S videocamera is an almost irrelevant novelty. I can't imagine I'd ever use it except once to see what it does. Even at 3 mPixel and with some sort of software focus, the new still camera is a long way short of even a cheap consumer camera with 3x optical zoom and 7 to 10 mPixels. I use a Panasonic Lumix with 10x optical zoom and optical image stabilization; and would never consider using anything less as a "regular" camera. Oh, and it has a flash. (And video capabilities beyond what the G3 S does, for that matter.)
Give me an iPhone with 10 mPixel, serious optical zoom and image stabilization, and a flash, and... well, it won't really be an iPhone anymore, will it; it'll be a PDA camera with a phone. (And while I gave up my SLR for a decent pocketable compact, there are a lot of people who will never even make that sacrifice.)
An OLED iPhone would go a long way to bridge the gap to real e-book readers; but, again, if you make the iPhone screen large enough to compete with Kindle you don't have an iPhone anymore, but something like a Kindle PDA.
Not to mention that optical zoom lens and flash, and the MiniDV drive (and of course Firewire port), a big external boom mike, the book-sized OLED screen, external GPS antenna, and can opener. (With a small kitchen sink on one side complete with the latest wireless hose adapter...)
It starts to look less like a sleek pocketable smartphone and more like something Dr Seuss might have devised for a geeky Who to tote around in a wheelbarrow.
Convergence can only go so far, unless you're one of those who don't care whether it does most of those things particularly well. We've all made compromises on some axes to converge or shrink -- I gave up a half full 80Gb video iPod for a 16Gb iPhone that holds a fraction of my stuff but also makes calls and keeps a calendar; and I gave up a bag full of cool SLR equipment for a compact camera I can throw in a pocket and take anywhere. But how many people really want to compromise THAT far on EVERYTHING? Some, sure; enough to make it a viable product direction? Maybe; but I kinda hope not.

[dbutenhof]

caduceus said:

I'm more concerned about the quality of the maps. I have a TomTom GPS, and recently bought "new" maps (wish I hadn't now that I hear about the iPhone app). It literally took them years to have my street on their map... google maps were much more current. According to TomTom, my neighbors and I lived in a forest until just recently... now we finally have our streets on their maps. I hope we have the option of using google maps with turn by turn tracking and directions. These GPS companies have been making a lot of money on people upgrading maps over the years... that business model will die if "connected" devices like iPhone and other smartphone start being the hardware.

They will have to decide whether they are going to try to make money on hardware, maps, or software... presumably there will be a lot of competition in the software division if Apple opens up the GPS functionality to all comers.

Just because the iPhone is "connected" doesn't mean you can get GPS turn-by-turn maps for free. Google maps can't be used that way. Maybe someone will build a free turn-by-turn app and online map repository, but it's an enormous effort; not just to create in the first place but to keep up to date.

Which is why the GPS vendors sell them instead of giving them away. They'll almost certainly continue doing that even if you're buying them on an iPhone.

[rab777hp]

This won't be the end because of memory, if the iPhone is the end of everyone of the devices people claim, then they better have 64GB iPhones coming out soon, HD video, Maps, Application support files, and all these things take up a ton of space. If your iPhone is fully loaded, then you probably won't have space for many maps

[MrLarrity]

For now, I'd still take my Garmin Nuvi 255w over using turn by turn on the iPhone. However, I say that without knowing pricing, how it will work, or how the call interuption issue will be handled.

I only paid $175 for my GPS, and now I expect them to be even cheaper.

Ultimately, I think the day of the $400-$700 GPS devices are done, which is all right with me!

I love competition, capitalism, and Apple all working together. Also, the days of $300 Blackberrys are done too. If Apple can sell the 3G for only $100 with all that it can do, why does your email device cost so much (looking at you BB Bold).

[powerboybass]

It's nice to have options. I have a Tom Tom and the nice thing about it is there's more satellite coverage than there's ATT cellular coverage. I haven't done any updates on the Tom Tom because it wasn't easy. Can't remember if it was because of fees or not. I'm assuming the iPhone app will roll out updates and fixes as needed.

Until cell coverage equals satellite coverage and all phones and carriers adopt a GPS function, there's still a place for both devices.

[hamishmacdonald]

Ugh, why?! I hated TomTom on all my Windows Mobile devices, and find Google Maps such a relief by comparison. (I'm a pedestrian, so YMMV.)
It always felt like it was poorly cobbled from their car-mount version with as few concessions to the different environment as they could get away with.

[ronincali3002]

Granted, this TomTom app is for the iPhone, but this weekend my 2G iPod touch crashed due to a bad app, but stayed "on", and wouldn't reboot, no matter what I tried (holding power button; power adapter; plug in to computer; press every button combo possible [all three, lol]). I finally had to just let it sit for hours until the battery completely died, after which it automatically rebooted once I (again) plugged it into my computer.
I like the idea of TomTom on iPhone, but if one were out somewhere, depending on the TomTom GPS app, and it crashed in the manner I described above, it'd be a pretty stressful situation in which to be found.
I'll stick to some one-function devices, and printouts from Google Maps (for now).

[markbvt]

TomTom's Navigator 6 software for PDAs and smartphones is $100 (discounted online price). I'll be very surprised if their iPhone software is significantly less. Keep in mind that you're not only paying for the software, which is essentially identical to their high-end portable automotive units, but for full, detailed maps of all of North America (which TomTom licenses from TeleAtlas, so part of the software price is the licensing fee).
It should also be noted that TomTom specifically makes automotive GPS units/software. They don't make units for other uses. As such, the features of the software are tailored to that particular use and aren't really designed for pedestrians and certainly not for outdoor recreation.
So will it mean the end of one-function devices? Certainly not. Even among the automotive and related GPS market, there are a lot of needs that aren't fulfilled by TomTom GPS units. For example, motorcyclists who like to ride both on-road and off- need GPS units that not only direct them where to go but also record tracks of where they've been and that can import other people's tracks of (say) a great off-road trail. No TomTom unit can do this, but several other manufacturers make mid-/high-end GPS units that can while still offering turn-by-turn street routing. By the same token, geocachers, boaters, hikers, etc will always need GPS units with features that TomTom's software just doesn't support. Even if someone puts out software that actually matches all these features, there's still the fact that the iPhone's GPS receiver is weak and inaccurate compared to the one in dedicated GPS units.
Camera phones have by no means killed off dedicated digital cameras -- if anything, their terrible image quality has underscored the need for dedicated digital cameras. And iPhone GPS software is not going to kill off dedicated GPS units.