What Google Maps Navigation Means

Earlier this week, Google dropped a major bombshell on the tech world by announcing Google Maps Navigation. It gives mobile phones with Google Maps the ability to get free, voice-guided, turn-by-turn GPS directions. And it looks damn good.

Initially, it will only be on Android 2.0 devices like the Motorola Droid, but Google has promised that it will eventually be available on Blackberries, iPhones, and Windows Mobile devices.

This announcement is unbelievably huge for a number of reasons. The only other navigation options people have are very expensive. Either a stand alone GPS from Garmin, TomTom, etc. or an expensive iPhone application. Google Navigation is free. And it provides a superior experience to stand alone GPS units. You can search by voice using plain English, view your route on a map or satellite image, and even view streetview pictures of upcoming turns. Check out all the cool features here. On top of all this, using Google Navigation provides constantly up-to-date information. No more worrying about roads and points of interest being outdated.

As you can see, I'm excited about this. But this isn't just big news because of how cool it is. It's big because of what it means for the industry. Immediately following the announcement, stock prices of both Garmin and TomTom took a nosedive and are still falling.

With one free software announcement, Google seriously shook up an industry it previously wasn't involved in. The navigation industry is one where companies are used to charging very large sums of money for their products. Now that business model is being challenged. By this time next year, nearly every single smartphone in the US will have a free and very good GPS unit built in. Demand for standard GPS units is going to drop off very quickly. You can see why Garmin and TomTom are scared.

Let's look at what this means for the GPS/mapping industry. Why hasn't Google done a navigation product before? After all, they've had their mapping service up and running since 2004. The reason is simple: they weren't allowed to. In the beginning, Google was licensensing their map data from other companies, including NAVTEQ and TeleAtlas. Part of their agreement with these mapping companies was that they wouldn't use the data for a GPS navigation product. Up until recently, if you visited a Google Maps page, you would see Copyright NAVTEQ or Copyright TeleAtlas at the bottom. But if you visit now, you see this:

Mapping the world is not an easy task. So how did Google manage to create their own map data? Simple: remember a certain fleet of camera-equipped cars that have been roaming the world for a few years? Turns out they were doing more than just taking pictures while they were out there. What about the live traffic information? That was previously supplied by NAVTEQ as well. But remember that announcement a few months ago that Google was going to start using live data from users cellphones to generate traffic delays? 

It's all coming together, isn't it?

So what does this mean, long term? The grim truth, is that I think the days of standalone GPS units are numbered. That's not to say that NAVTEQ, Garmin, TomTom, etc. are going to go out of buisness, but their bottom line is going to be severely impacted. Their business is going to rapidly shrink and will probably be confined to very specific markets, such as fleet vehicles. But for the vast majority of average consumers, Google Navigation will be the prefered choice both because it's already with them and because it will likely provide a superior experience for them.

It's going to be an interesting future for existing navigation and mapping companies...one of which I happen to work for. One thing is for sure: Google is becoming an increasingly powerful force in an increasing number of industries. But competition is a good thing, so I'm very curious to see how this all pans out. :-)

Google Maps Navigation
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Netflix vs. Redbox

This is a post I've been wanting to write for some time now. The popularity of Redbox has been seriously on the rise recently, especially among my friends. I have nothing against Redbox as a company, and I think its great that they're making DVD rentals cheaper and easier.

However, I think they are far, far inferior to Netflix. In my mind, the two should not even be compared against each other. Redbox is a fine service, but it's no Netflix. Let's take a look at the two services and how they compare to each other.

Price - winner: Redbox
Netflix is a subscription based service, meaning you get a certain number of DVDs for a monthly fee. Their lowest price is $5, which gives you 2 DVDs per month. Their next price is $9 per month and gives unlimited DVDs. They offer several other price options, but for now we'll simply consider the cheapest two choices.

Redbox prices their DVDs on a per-night basis, with a simple $1 price. Keep a movie for 3 nights, pay $3. Simple as that.

So, assuming absolute fastest turnaround time for both models, a Redbox customer could theoretically get 30 discs per month, whereas a Netflix customer with the $9 monthly plan could theoretically get as many as 8 discs per month. According to Feedflix.com, the average Netflix subscriber ends up paying approx. $2 per disc. This means that in order to make Redbox cheaper, users must only keep their DVDs for one night.

So, from a strict cost-per-disc standpoint, Redbox is cheaper. But Netflix offers so many extra features that I believe the slightly higher price is beyond worth it.

Selection - winner: Netflix
This one is a no-brainer. Netflix wins this comparison by a landslide. According to the Redbox website, you can select from over 350 different movies at the kiosks. By comparison, Netflix offers...wait for it... over 100,000 different movies.

Numbers like that speak for themselves. There really isn't much more to say. I challenge anyone to find a title that Redbox has and Netflix doesn't. Let's do a quick title search across a few genres:

Classic - Singing in the Rain: Netflix, yes - Redbox, no
Comedy - Spaceballs: Netflix, yes - Redbox, no
Romance - Chocolat: Netflix, yes - Redbox, no
Action - Iron Man: Netflix, yes - Redbox, no
New release - Lies and Illusions: Netflix, yes - Redbox, yes

Convenience - winner: toss up
This one could go either way. It all depends on your definition of what's convenient. For some people, the ability to get a particular DVD immediately from a kiosk is going to be the most convenient option. For others, the ability to get DVDs delivered without going anywhere is a more convenient option. For me, Netflix is definitely more convenient. I am terrible at remembering to return borrowed items, so Redbox discs would likely end up costing me $3 or $4 each just because I'd forget to return them. Plus, all of the Redbox kiosks I've seen are always crowded, and waiting in line is definitely not convenient.

I also find the selection issue to be part of the convenience discussion, too. Having the Redbox website constantly say, "no results found" when searching for a movie is also not convenient.

Extra features - winner: Netflix
Being a straight kiosk service, Redbox offers exactly zero extra features. You get DVDs and that's it. Netflix, however, offers all kinds of cool features, one of them being the ability to up to more expensive plans that give you more than one DVD at a time. You can also set up individual queues that share one account; for example, if you have a 2-disc per month plan, you can have one queue for the kids and one for the parents.

But Netflix's killer extra is Watch Instantly. They offer over 17,000 movies and TV shows that you can stream instantly to your computer, XBox, DVD player, TV, or other compatible device. If you have a Windows Vista (or soon Windows 7) Media Center computer, you can also stream instantly through Media Center.

There is no extra subscription fee to use Watch Instantly, either. All you need is the $9 plan or higher and a high speed Internet connection. And streaming is completely unlimited. This means that you can literally watch as many movies and TV shows as you want, in addition to the DVDs you get in the mail, for that same $9 per month.

Conclusion:
The only real conclusion you can draw from this is that Netflix and Redbox really cannot even be compared. They appeal to very different groups of people. Redbox is great for people who only watch new releases, or who can only afford one or two movies a month. For everyone else, though, I think Netflix is the clear winner, no question.

If you have a different perspective, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. I'm an obvious Netflix fan, but I think Redbox has its place and I'm not bashing them at all. I am merely saying that they're so different that it's not really fair to compare.

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Google Wave is finally here

After months of waiting, Google's very ambitious new project is finally upon us. Announced back in May, Wave promises to reinvent the way we communicate online. The Wave developers said they started with the question, "what would email look like if it were invented today?"

At the moment, Wave is still in a closed beta, meaning that in order to get in on it, you need to be invited by someone who already has it. The first batch of invites from Google went out a few days ago...and one of them arrived in my inbox.

In a nutshell, Wave is a multi-faceted, real-time communication system. It blends aspects of email, instant messaging, social networking, etc. to create one big conversation. Here's a short video that does a great job describing Wave:





Here's my first impressions after using it for 2 days. In a word: wow. Wave has the potential to seriously change the Internet. Those of you who are just getting used to email had better hold on tight. It's almost as if there's too much potential with it...it's a bit overwhelming. At this point, it's hard to fully grasp just how useful it's going to be. There are so many features already and it's still in a humble preview state.

Wave's success is going to depend on how many people adopt it. Email has been around for so long that everyone already knows how to use it. But Wave is so different, and so revolutionary, that there's a chance people will reject it for the simple reason that it's unfamiliar.

One of Wave's most powerful features is the ability to embed gadgets and robots into conversations. Things like maps, videos, pictures, weather, etc. can all be embedded directly into a conversation and manipulated by all participants. Robots are contacts that can be added to a conversation that extend functionality...for example, there are robots that auto translate into other languages, that post to Twitter, that answer questions, etc.

Personally, I really like Wave. Once more of my friends and contacts get on board, I think it will become a seriously valuable communication tool. If you are able to secure an invite, I highly recommend that you check it out. If you want to learn more, there's an 8 minute video that describes Wave in detail here.

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