Free GPS Navigation is the Droid’s Killer App
By Eric Benderoff
The turn-by-turn driving directions built into the Motorola Droid is about as close to a “killer” app that I have encountered on a mobile phone.
Motorola Droid
The Droid is the first phone to include this application, called Google Maps Navigation, because it is the first phone — with more to follow — that includes the Android 2.0 software. The Droid, available Nov. 6 from Verizon Wireless, sells for $199 with a two-year agreement.
Google Maps Navigation is free, an alluring reason to buy the phone as well as a disruptive force in the GPS marketplace. There is no monthly service fee to use Google Maps Navigation, no fee for traffic data and no fee to upgrade maps. The only thing users need to pay for is the car mount, sold separately for a reasonable $29. Once you put the Droid into the car mount, the phone’s GPS and mapping functions automatically turns on. It’s pretty cool.
Of course, even free, this GPS feature would be worthless if it didn’t work well, but it does. Here’s how it went with my tests.
I had an urge for sushi, but couldn’t make up my mind on where to go. So after I placed the Droid into the car mount, I tapped voice search and said, “Sushi Chicago.” In moments, a Google list of Chicago Sushi restaurants popped up. Each listing had an address I could tap to get driving directions. I picked one of my favorite places, Butterfly Sushi.
The Droid's Killer App
I tapped the phone for directions and I was offered a choice to view a Google Map or, by hitting “navigate,” get turn-by-turn driving instructions. I chose turn-by-turn results, and was guided, accurately, by a female voice to the front door.
The coolest part comes when you reach your destination: a picture of the location appears on your phone, culled from Google Maps with Street View. It is a great visual cue — and a little creepy — to let you know you’ve arrived.
Next, I used the Droid to get to a meeting in an office park in Downers Grove, Ill., a 22-mile drive from my home in Chicago. As with a typical GPS unit, the screen showed the road I was driving on, gave fair warning — both with visual and audio cues — when I needed to turn and provided an arrival estimate. When I hit the freeway at 11:11 a.m., it said I would reach the office park in 21 minutes. Sure enough, I parked my car at 11:32 a.m.
The only wrinkle on this trip was that Google Maps Navigation directed me to a freeway exit that required a toll. In a past trip to the same office, my GPS device from TeleNav directed me to a nearby freeway exit that didn’t require a toll.
On the other hand, I love that I don’t need to plug the Droid into the car charger to provide power to use the device. The simple mount makes the device very sleek and portable, easy to use around town or when you are on a road trip. But be warned: Using GPS services on a mobile phone has historically drained the battery very quickly. Motorola and Google say the phone has been optimized to reduce battery strain, but I have not used it enough to offer an opinion.
One day, Google Maps Navigation will be on more phones, I’m sure. But until then, it offers a compelling reason to buy the Droid.
For a video demonstration of Google Maps Navigation, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D63jWnL9svE
Twitter.com/ericbendy
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