GPS Systems and Reviews

GPS Enabled Phones Looking To Take Over By 2010

In the future, many things will be different and one thing that probably will change the way we do things more than anything else is our cell phone. Smart phones as they are called seem to be slowing taking over many chores we had other devices for. By the year 2010 data, shows that over half of the smart phones will be GPS enabled which means you will be able to navigate right from your smart phone, which is something I would have never imagined. Read further to discover more about this trend and where it is headed for the consumer who should be the big winner in all of this.

Cell phones seem to be everywhere from kids to adults and everyone in-between. Many people will tell you the one device they cannot live without is the cell phone. They text on it, call on it and it is actually everything they need if you believe what you hear from them. The newest generation of phones is called smart phone. This unit has many more options and can do a lot more than your standard cell phone. One of the biggest advantage of these is they usually have bigger memory which means many more things can be added and done with these than a standard cell phone. Smart phones are the wave of the future and it is predicted that they will soon become consumer’s choice when getting a new cell phone.

Right now, many cell phone providers have cell phone plans where you can use their GPS services for an extra fee. This is something that many have taken companies up on. These companies now see the demand is getting greater and they want to capture a bigger part of the GPS pie. The only way they can do this is get a better product on the market that is GPS enabled. This is where the smart phone comes in. With more memory and bigger screens and easy to operate it is a natural progression for cell phone companies. In the future smart phones will be the choice of almost everyone.

GPS is probably one of the hottest markets right now and adding them to cell phones is going to take some time. Estimates are that by 2010 almost half of the smart phones will be GPS enabled which means more consumers will be able to use this technology to navigate through town or on long distance trips. This is very important for a number of reasons. Smart phones are more than just a cell phone to many people. Some of these units also have PDA’s built in as well as video and MP3 players so as you can see they can do most anything. Adding the ability to GPS makes these even more practical for the consumer and a much better value.

As more and more of these GPS enable smart phones are released, you will see people gravitate towards these. It is much easier for the consumer to carry one cell phone that does everything they need than to have to carry a cell phone, PDA, and a GPS unit. When they are all put into one unit consumers tend to feel it is a much better value and will want these units. This will make competition in the GPS unit’s arena so much tougher as well. Probably the big winner in this whole thing though will be the consumer, as they will have a wide assortment of things to choose from.

Smart phones that are GPS enabled are the future and more and more people are looking forward to this. They know that they already have to use a cell phone so why not step up to the smart phone and get much more for the money you are already spending. This means that the value of a cell phone is just that much greater once they become GPS enabled. The real question will become how this will affect the GPS market in general. It really is very hard to say as this is still a few years down the line. As it is implemented in the end, the consumers will probably determine that. They could like smart phones with GPS enabled or they could not only time will tell how consumers react and if it will hurt the overall GPS market. I think it will have a positive impact and give the GPS market a big boost in the end, but I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens before we can make that judgment.

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Lowrance iWay 500C GPS Steady Strong Performer

Lowrance electronics have been making electronic devices for a number of years mostly for the fishing and marine market so it was a natural progression when they decided to enter the GPS car market. The things that they have learned from the other markets can only help this company as they enter one of the hottest markets in the industry. The Lowrance iWay 500C looks to make its mark real quickly. Read further and you will learn what you can expect from the 500c and all it can do.

The 500C has a larger 5-inch screen that has a 320 by 320, 256-color display and it is very bright and readable even in direct sunlight. Sometimes the sun can be a problem, but this model seems to handle it very well which is something I really have to give this company credit for. The device measures 6.1 by 4.5 by 2.2 inches so it is small in size and very portable which another plus is for it. It weights slightly over 2 pounds, which really is not a lot, and it is sealed and watertight which can be expected since they have been in the marine and fishing arena for a very long time.

One of the things that I have to give Lowrance credit for is they seemed to have big hard drives on their products and this one is no different. You get a built-in 20GB hard drive in which 10GB is used to store your maps and points of interest and the other 10GB is for you the consumer to use. You may wonder what you will do with the other memory, but it comes in very handy. You can download more things to your unit or use it to download songs for the built in MP3 player. Yes, you heard me right it does have a built-in music player so you can take your favorite tunes with you when you travel. A nice added touch for those really long trips.

Five buttons are arranged vertically along the right edge of the unit which provide basic functions include power/backlighting, a map/music toggle, speak/volume, and the find and main menus. These are all easy to access and seem to work very well. The touch screen interface works very well and you should be up and running in no time, as Lowrance products are real user friendly, which is something I really like about them. You also can choose what data you would like to appear on the screen as you drive down the road. For many people this is a very important feature, as they always want to see what is going on.

The point of interest database that is included is very vast and you should not have any trouble at all finding what you need from it. The 500C has an audible prompt when it is time to turn and the screen will shift to turn preview mode. In this mode, many different things will appear to make your turns and keep you on route much easier. I like this feature and it seemed to work real well in all tests.

Overall, the Lowrance iWay 500C is a thing of beauty. You get a much larger screen than what most people is use to. The touch screen interface works extremely well and it is easy to operate. It should take you no time at all to get going with this model. A built-in MP3 player also is something I really like and it gives you a chance to listen to your favorite tunes as you travel down the highway. It seems more companies are now making this standard in their newer issues, which is something I’d like to see.

Performance wise the iWay 500C is a solid performer at a very good price. Out of the box this one is easy to operate and it will have you cruising down the road in no time at all. If you are looking for a bigger screen with some great added features than look no more the Lowrance iWay 500C has arrived. Grab yours and enjoy what this new model has to offer. With an MP3 player and a big memory there really is no limitations place on this unit. If you need a solid GPS unit than this is one that should be on your radar that is for sure. The company has been in business for years and has a solid reputation so you know they will stand behind their products. This model is one of the better ones.

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