Navigation Has Come A Long Way From The Map Days

February 16th, 2011 |

Vehicle navigation has come a long way from stopping at the nearest service or gas station and asking directions. Modern GPS techniques have given our mobile society an leg up on those who plod around unfolding and straightening crumpled maps along the byways of America.

However, unless you speak in geographical, a plain GPS can actually be of little to no service to the average motorist trying to find the local theater that’s playing the latest movie releases. This is where GPS becomes the tool beneath the user friendly application and not as an end to itself.

Before the latest Sat Nav apps, many were happy with the interactive map capabilities of the current GPS navigation boxes that were finding there way to so many vehicle dashboards. At that point all you needed to keep up to date were the latest maps updates as new roads were built, old ones closed and detours enacted.

Once Internet access was made a part of the GPS Sat Nav tools the floodgates opened for new interactive applications. While the talking route finder GPS box was becoming the new mobile darling, developers were busy exploring the combination of real time GPS coordinates driving an Internet search for people, places and things. The dream of typing in or speaking the word hospital and having your Sat Nav find and show directions to the nearest one was about to become reality.