iPhone 4S v. regular GPS unit

[moonman239]

I'm going to compare the iPhone 4S to a GPS unit.

iPhone:
-Does more than give you a map & directions.
-Access to a 3G network allows the phone to have up-to-date business listings.
-Thanks to Siri, you don't have to memorize a set of voice commands.

GPS unit:
-Dedicated to giving maps & directions.
-Works even in areas that lack cell coverage.

What feature would the iPhone have to have to convince you to get rid of your GPS unit or not buy a GPS unit?

 

[sakau2007]

I'm going to compare the iPhone 4S to a GPS unit.

iPhone:
-Does more than give you a map & directions.
-Access to a 3G network allows the phone to have up-to-date business listings.
-Thanks to Siri, you don't have to memorize a set of voice commands.

GPS unit:
-Dedicated to giving maps & directions.
-Works even in areas that lack cell coverage.

What feature would the iPhone have to have to convince you to get rid of your GPS unit or not buy a GPS unit?

It's pretty simple for me...

For me to get rid of my GPS and actually use whatever Apple is selling, I'll need it to do everything my current GPS can already do. Why would I ever start using a product that does 90% of what a product I already own does (and has done for years and years)? The one exception is that I understand it will fail with no cell coverage. However, that should be accounted for by caching map data that is on your programmed route. That would be acceptable for me.

With the integration of things like Yelp and OpenTable, I should be able to do things like make a reservation and read reviews right there in the maps app. There's no reason the phone shouldn't be able to check my ETA against the business hours of the establishment I am going and alert me if I'm not going to get there before it closes. Ever routed yourself to Chick-Fil-A only to find out its Sunday when you arrived? I have, and it'd be nice to be reminded of that on the spot!

 

[moonman239]

It's pretty simple for me...

With the integration of things like Yelp and OpenTable, I should be able to do things like make a reservation and read reviews right there in the maps app. The Maps app gives you the average user rating. There's no reason the phone shouldn't be able to check my ETA against the business hours of the establishment I am going and alert me if I'm not going to get there before it closes. Ever routed yourself to Chick-Fil-A only to find out its Sunday when you arrived? No.I have, and it'd be nice to be reminded of that on the spot!That'd be a nice feature.

Response in bold.

 

[BuckeyeMac]

Cache/download maps so that when I hit that no service area, I still have navigation.

This should be in there to begin with

 

[Djs621]

No comparison.. Simply because the IPhone itself is a state Of the art product that only houses state of the art components. No GPS chip in a $100 gps stand alone unit can compare to the technology in an iPhone. Which is why the stand alone market is dying, stand alone companies realize that they aren't stupid. I think most of them mainly focus on mapping and logistics now instead of hardware.

Oh and BTW, the IPhone has Glonass gps chips.. Look it up:

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/10/19/apple-expands-iphone-4s-gps-capabilities-with-glonass-support/

 

[Sh4wN]

I really have no need for a standalone GPS unit. My iPhone is with me all the time, Apple Maps is already usable for shorter trips (traffic works good in my area, routing is nearly perfect, it's faster than any navigation I've ever owned) and if a trip takes me abroad, I still have Navigon that I can fall back to.

 

[ericrwalker]

Download the TomTom app, It will be exactly like TomTom, but you'll have regular updates. You can use it even without phone service and it has a lot of neat features. Like the ability to take you to a place where you took a picture (GPS location embedded on photos), you're address book will automatically be in your GPS, probably a bunch of other things I can't think of off the top of my head.

A full GPS app works even in areas that lack cell coverage.

I'm going to compare the iPhone 4S to a GPS unit.

iPhone:
-Does more than give you a map & directions.
-Access to a 3G network allows the phone to have up-to-date business listings.
-Thanks to Siri, you don't have to memorize a set of voice commands.

GPS unit:
-Dedicated to giving maps & directions.
-Works even in areas that lack cell coverage.

What feature would the iPhone have to have to convince you to get rid of your GPS unit or not buy a GPS unit?