Garmin scares drivers who use free smartphone GPS

14th July, 2010 by adina
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The GPS maker Garmin has tried to scare European travellers who used smartphone navigation by saying it would be very expensive. It also claimed that services provided free of charge like, for example, Google Maps Navigation, would actually be more expensive due to costly international data fees that are needed to maintain the maps updated. For instance, a relatively short trip like the one from Calais to Paris, could make a British resident to spend $112 (equivalent of £74) in data.

It could be even worse for other travelers because of the new European roaming data caps which could limit the roaming fees to the amount of 50 euros or $64, with a possible cut off of data in mid-trip.

The roaming fees are correct but the claims do not refer to how this kind of free service works or addresses every competitor. Considering Google Maps Navigation, it is able to cache the whole planned route and download data only for the return trip or in case of veering off a normal intended course. Nokia’s Ovi Maps, for example, contains fully offline maps while it does not charge at all. Other applications, which work on the iPhone, provide free GPS, although only a few of them have offline maps.

The truth is that smartphone GPS has been threatening Garmin which has felt compelled to enter the smartphone area with devices like its Garminfone.

Even when there are no free services available, smartphone owners, those of the iPhone especially, have always had paying for GPS applications as an option and had benefited from the same maps offline as had dedicated GPS devices.


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