Windows for GPS

19 June 2008, 10:19am

Internet-enabled services could become more common in vehicles, thanks to the Windows Embedded NavReady 09 operating system launched by Microsoft in June, which is designed to improve wireless connectivity and Internet access in GPS devices. NavReady 09 includes Bluetooth features allowing GPS receivers to be coupled with other devices. Most GPS companies now use their own custom-built, proprietary operating systems, e.g. Garmin and TomTom, while others use off-the-shelf embedded systems that may not be ideal for GPS technology. For example, Mio uses Windows Embedded Compact, designed for real-time handheld devices. NavReady makes it easy for GPS receivers to share data with other hardware, so it should reduce the complexity and cost of building and testing Internet-connected GPS devices. NavReady is modular, so developers should be able to discard the code they don't need, making their systems more efficient.

Microsoft believes that the new operating system will help people retrieve more up-to-date information about nearby places, people, and services. The problem with current location-based services is that, when searching for PoIs, they typically query a static database stored on the GPS device, which is updated only occasionally. Existing traffic-notification services have a similar problem, generally sending out information on a broadcast basis, so drivers do not necessarily get the latest real-time information.

By making it easier for developers to add Internet access to their GPS devices, NavReady should enable two-way communication and ensure that the very latest information is retrieved. "In Europe, about 20 percent of drivers already have some form of navigational device, while in the U.S., it's more like 10 percent," says Chris Jones, a principal analyst with Canalys, in Reading, England. The market for automotive GPS devices is expanding rapidly, Jones says, but NavReady will likely spur innovation and competition. For example, although some high-end products on the market already have Internet and Bluetooth functions, he says, NavReady should make these features fast become the norm.

Although launched in June, NavReady is available only to device makers for now and devices will not reach the market until 2009. Because manufacturers have already spent a lot of time and money developing their own signature user interfaces, don't expect any kind of familiar Windows interface with NavReady, which has been designed to work in the background with these interfaces.

Source: Duncan Graham-Rowe in MIT Technology Review on-line news, 18 June 2008

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20940/?nlid=1154

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