GPS car Panel dispute with applications

When the children of Tim Nixon are drive and want to know how to get somewhere, they stick their iPhones in the windshield with a suction cup and trigger an application maps that can be downloaded for free from the internet. For the father, it is a sign of a problem. As Chief Technology Officer of OnStar service from General Motors (GM), Nixon navigation systems sells for $ 1.5 million or more. "We have always had these built-in navigation systems on board," he says. "But that will be an advantage."
Since the Government of the United States began offering an excellent GPS signal to the population, in the year 2000, manufacturers of navigation systems like OnStar, Garmin and TomTom are having a tremendous success. One in every four cars sold in the United States today has a navigation system, according to consultancy IHS Automotive, whose estimated is that facilities of these devices in the world spent 13.8 million this year. To group them as expensive optional leather seats, sunroof and sophisticated sound systems, the automakers charge $ 500 to $ 2,000 the most navigation systems.
Companies such as Garmin sell alone its products at prices that reach the hundreds of dollars, but whatever the price, the GPS devices are vulnerable to applications for smartphones and tablets, which are easier to be upgraded, can provide more information about the traffic and, in many cases, are free. The device manufacturers and automakers struggle to make their products more adapted to the internet and to produce competitive applications.
The maps application downloads in the u.s. increased by 11% in May compared to the same period last year, to 79.1 million, placing them among the most commonly used applications, according to data from market research firm comScore. "Smartphones and software are getting so advanced that are changing consumer behavior in a deep way," says Andrew Lipsman, a comScore analyst. "So, categories that grew a few years ago suddenly have a new competitor."
Most embedded navigation systems in cars has no connection to the internet. They use GPS data to guide the driver to establish a route with preloaded maps, which can be crossed. "The process of updating maps of your car is expensive and complicated, and it is necessary to resort to a dealer," says John Canali, which monitors the navigation business consultancy Strategy Analytics.
Users of Google Maps, based on the internet, do not have this problem. Applications for smartphones as the Scout and the Navfree internet data and also use some social networks include: the 48 million users of Waze, bought by Google in June, for $ 1.1 billion, inform about traffic jams or accidents, so that users can search for other routes. "The game has changed," says Nixon, OnStar, "and the standard was raised by these devices are always connected and bring fresh information to inside the car."
This year, the annual survey of the market research firm J.D. Power Associates & shows that 47% of car owners use maps applications for smartphones when they are driving, fronts to 37% from last year. Car owners are less satisfied with built-in navigation systems. "Many feel that their smartphones have better processing speed, points of interest and best best map data", says Mike VanNieuwkyuk, Executive Director of automotive research at J.D. Power. Forty-six percent of owners of cars with embedded systems said they will not buy another if their smartphones applications can run on a touch-sensitive screen on the dashboard of their cars.
GM's OnStar Division already offers a maps application for iPhones for $ 50, which runs on touch screen built into the dashboard of the Chevy Spark, sold for $ 12,170. On July 16, the Garmin mobile application has updated his $ 50, released in 2011; TomTom began selling a similar application for $ 36, plus an annual fee of $ 16 UDS. The two companies charge more for traffic updates and other functions. On July 8, Garmin has announced a $ 150 system projecting directions on the windscreen of the car, from the screen of a smartphone. "We realize that there are customers who prefer to use their smartphones for navigation", says Johan-Till Broer, spokesman for the company.
The conventional device manufacturers trust that will be able to keep drivers interested in embedded systems. The IHS estimates that the navigation systems installed in 32.7 million automobiles until 2019, when more than half of American cars have these systems. Michelle Moody, marketing manager for Ford's consumer technology, and Marios Zenios, Vice President, Chrysler Uconnect system, claim that embedded devices have advantages over the systems of smartphones, like the larger screen and a GPS connection more reliable, thanks to an antenna mounted on the roof of the car. "The truth is that neither is a perfect solution," says Moody. "Together, they can be the perfect solution."
That is why the automakers are trying to unite the companies newcomers like Waze. "We talked to everyone," says Di-Ann Eisnor, Director of operations of Waze in the us, adding that a Japanese company will include the application in one of their cars from the end of the year. The Executive declined to reveal the brand. With access to data from internal systems of automobiles, Eisnor says that someday the Waze can transmit information generated by the public about storms when users connect the windshield wipers of their cars. For now, however, the price is a decisive factor, she says. "If you can choose between pay dearly for a built-in navigation system and have for free a app on your iPhone, with which of the two will be?"