GPS traffic reports for impatient drivers

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Raj Mitra, senior director of product marketing for Magellan, called traffic services "the killer application" for GPS in large metro areas.

The subscription model makes the most sense for cell phones and smart phones that offer traffic services since they're sold through carriers, whose users are already paying a monthly fee. But it can be difficult to build momentum by charging a monthly fee for a separate portable GPS device, Rubin said. At the same time, a $200 premium may cause some consumers to wonder if they'll actually get enough use out of such a device to warrant paying a lifetime subscription, he said.

Magellan, which also makes a line of real-time traffic kits for its GPS devices, currently offers its service for $60 a year in the U.S. But in Europe, where navigation devices are more popular, Magellan offers a lifetime subscription model, and it's looking to make that available stateside sometime this year.

Of course, getting rerouted around gridlock isn't a guaranteed time saver. A different route may be slightly longer, but at least you won't be inching along a congested roadway, checking the clock every five minutes.

The traffic-reporting system also doesn't cover every road. I didn't encounter any accidents--at least on the GPS system. But as I drove up Third Street, a relatively busy road in the South of Market area of San Francisco, I did pass a fatal accident in which a pedestrian was hit by a mail truck. Several police and ambulance vehicles were on the scene and flares were glowing in the street. But that didn't show up on the system.

A Delphi representative said the current system, as with many of the traffic-reporting systems out now, collects information for highways and major roads. The system will have to be expanded to include all roads sometime in the future.

In the meantime, I'll be sure to keep my eye on street signs.

[pbarnes7]

Article is exactly right

As Erika said, GPS in your auto can be hypnotic but incredibly useful. I've had a TomTom Go 300 for about 15 months and find myself not looking at street signs much at all.

Though I wish she'd mentioned that the more expensive models will say the street name, which would eliminate that habit. Instead when in city traffic, I find myself glancing at the screen to make sure I'm turning onto the right street. That's because TomTom (we call him Tom, for short!) gives you plenty of warning for turns, 2 miles ahead on the highway, which can be TOO much advance notice!

I live in the boonies, don't usually have problems with traffic and don't have the required Blue-Tooth cell phone. So I never bothered trying out the traffic reporting service that TomTom offers. But we've used the "navigate around a roadblock" feature a couple times with great success.

But sometimes it's felt like Tom was taking us on back roads that didn't make sense, especially if you know your way around the area well. For areas I may frequent, I wish I could tell it "don't even go on this street because there's construction there for the next 6 months". Oh well, guess I'll actually have to use my BRAIN! :-/

[Jane in KC]

Agreed

Interesting comment - and article. My older son has a Garmin he received as a Christmas present, and he really loves it! He lives in the Denver area and drives a lot, so it's great for him. He does have a bluetooth phone and uses the Garmin to take calls in his vehicle.

[Jane in KC]

Agreed

Interesting comment - and article. My older son has a Garmin he received as a Christmas present, and he really loves it! He lives in the Denver area and drives a lot, so it's great for him. He does have a bluetooth phone and uses the Garmin to take calls in his vehicle.

[TV James]

GPS' are great, but...

GPS is coming, but here's my wish list for the devices...

(1) better understanding of what you're getting as far as maps. When we bought our $350 unit, the maps were already two years out of date. The website promised future updates, but it took them another year to finally offer them... for $50. The model has since been discontinued as has its replacement.

(2) the ability to specify some rules (like avoid this on/off ramp, avoid this street, etc.)

(3) the ability for it to learn (and or be told) about changes. For instance, near us, a very handy and time-saving road doesn't exist on a map. So it gets confused every time we use it, showing us driving through a field. If it could learn over time (oh, hey, there must be a road or path here) it could integrate that back into its calculations. Better yet, if it could phone home and everyone's updates could become part of the known maps, that would save having to do the costly paid updates.

(4) subscriptions - if they want it to be like cell phones or cable tv or security systems where they're reaching into our pockets every month, they need to give the hardware away free and make sure the devices are capable of living and being useful (i.e., up-to-date) for years to come. I'd replace the one I had and buy a second one for my other car if I could be guaranteed they'd always have the latest maps and traffic info.

[maestrogps]

Maestro 4000 has same features

i'm using maestro 4000 (<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.highspeedsat.com/maestro4000.htm" target="_newWindow">http://www.highspeedsat.com/maestro4000.htm</a>. It's new model of magellan, and it has all this features.