GPS shows the way in India
New Delhi, Oct 22: Have you ever been stranded in the middle of the night wondering which turn to take or gone in circles looking for a particular building, wishing someone was there to point out the right route?
While some still go about in circles, a few tech-savvy individuals have now turned to GPS (Global Positioning System)-enabled navigation system which pinpoints turn-by-turn route to their destination.
"Our system can guide you from Kashmir to Kanyakumari across all major highways in the country. In addition, detailed intra-city roads and points of interest are also available for major metros," says Jaya Prakash of SatNav Technologies, which manufactures GPS-enabled navigation system.
"With SatGuide, a user navigates to any chosen location by entering the destination as the input, SatGuide resolves the current location from GPS satellites and suggests the best possible route on a map displayed on the screen. While driving, it prompts the user all along the way through voice commands with directions to reach the destination," adds Prakash.
"The consumer market is very small in India. What we have now is the tech savvy cool to be seen with or I-love-gadgets young brigade who are adopting the GPS navigation system," says Ashutosh Pande, managing director, SiRF Technology which manufactures chips for GPS-enabled systems.
He adds, "Right now there are hardly around 20,000-25,000 GPS-enabled navigation system users in the country even though the market has high potential for growth with the economy booming and more people becoming aware of such a system since till now we have always imagined GPS with only military equipment...Moreover, till very recently, having a digital map of the country was a crime in India. So, in a way GPS has just taken birth in India," Pande points out.
GPS-enabled navigation system manufacturers in India point out that unlike in other countries, here the only drawback for such a system is that only city by city maps are being developed along with all the major national highways.
Airtel, one of India's largest cellular operators, recently introduced its GPS service through BlackBerry 8800 by which one receives turn by turn navigation on their cell.
"We have already got a good number of users. Since, all you need is a BlackBerry 8800, it becomes very easy for the user since he/she does not need any additional device," says an Airtel executive.
According to industry experts, the market for GPS can be broadly divided into four depending on the devices and services offered, namely, automotive, mobile phone, mobile computer and embedded consumer.
"If we take the industry statistics, the penetration level of GPS companies in all the four markets is less than 1 per cent in India. This means that more than 99 per cent of the market is yet to be tapped," says Pande.
He adds that when the GPS system was first launched in the world it was priced around $ 5,000 dollar. Recently, Harman/Kardon has launched a GPS device with MP3 and video for $ 150 dollar.
The popularity of GPS in India can be gauged from the online communities on Orkut and Yahoo where especially on a Yahoo GPS community, live discussions on new technology and adaptations are regularly done. Users of GPS point out that even though it has been helpful, transmission at times go haywire during a storm or driving through tall buildings or trees.
"I get ample feedback from my GPS system but during storms or when I drive through roads with tall buildings, the transmission does not come in properly and I at times get completely lost since the GPS system needs uninterrupted beam.
"There are hiccups but must say that the new systems are better when it comes to transmission during storms," says Pande.
Mapping companies which make digitalised maps for GPS systems point out that one of the main problems that they face is that with construction happening all the time, they have to frequently update their maps.
"There are so many buildings and malls coming up that we have to frequently update our maps. Moreover, road names keep on changing here in India which is again an additional problem," chuckles an mapping executive with Navteq, one of the world's largest mapping firms.
"Having been a success in much more difficult countries like Japan, we have already mapped almost every major metro in India along with the national highways. The market looks bright," he adds.
"With GPS now being used not for just navigation system but for a lot of other things especially by courier and transport companies among others who have started using them for their vehicle location and distribution system, the future of GPS in India is bright," says Pande. (Agencies) Published: Monday, October 22, 2007 | 
By now its old news that the Garmin iQue3600 was launched in India. GPS India must have come out with their own version of the maps to support the new PDA/GPS. They never got back (as expected) when I inquired about the map availability. Another device that caught my attention was the NavTalk GSM. It looks like one of those old clunky cell phones, but its infact a GPS with cell phone capability. This one never got launched in US since GSM standard was never popular here. But now that most of the carriers provide GSM support I wonder if this product has a new market. Color screen, blue tooth and a smaller form factor would be a big plus. Do we have such phones already?
11 Comments:
Yes We are prepared!
CG CoreEl Logic System has already launched its GPS based solution under brand of "gpswebber" .for more details contact ambrish@cgclogic.com
is gps implemented in india? really? what should be the initiative form the Govt/privet sector side?
Hi All
I am Looking for a GPS device (Garmin Make) I Wonder if it is easily and Legally available in india/Bangalore. If So pls mail me at selva2006@yahoo.com
Hi I am looking for GPS maps for india that will work with Windows mobile 5 or specifically the Asus A632 0r A636 PDA with built in GPS antenna, please let me know jason@healingbreeze.net
I got the reply from GPDIndia!!
Dear Sir,
Thanks for your mail and interest in GPS India.
For India we have turn-by-turn, voice prompt maps that can be loaded onto Garmin StreetPilot C-320, for:-
a) Mumbai, b) Delhi, c) Bangalore, d) Chennai, e) Pune, f) Bhopal, g) Jaipur,
h) Nagpur, i) Mysore, j) Pondicherry, k) Ahmedabad and l) Anand.
Each map is for Rs. 10,000/- only.
Assuring you the best of service.
Kind regards
sushil Jolly,
Director
GPS INDIA
D-67, DEFENCE COLONY,
NEW DELHI-110024.
Tel.#0091-11- 24651445;41740346;41740347.
Fax. 0091-11- 24651446;41740348
Mobile: 9810972144
how would i download an indian gps map to my pda? prince 9895167950
The Question is How long can we Wait for detailed Digitalizedmaps of the country to be available?
Should The infinite advantages of GPS stay away from indians just bcoz we dont have maps.
We at PSS (Positioning Systems and Solutions),withour offices at Gwalior,Jaipur and Mumbai have Patented our own GPS scale which when used with a compass and a GPS device obviates the need for a digitalized uploadable map.Our E-mail address is pssgroupindia@gmail.com
The Question is How long can we Wait for detailed Digitalizedmaps of the country to be available?
Should The infinite advantages of GPS stay away from indians just bcoz we dont have maps.
We at PSS (Positioning Systems and Solutions),withour offices at Gwalior,Jaipur and Mumbai have Patented our own GPS scale which when used with a compass and a GPS device obviates the need for a digitalized uploadable map.Our E-mail address is pssgroupindia@gmail.com
i THOUGHT WWW.ITEMSOFDESIRE.COM HAS SOME SERIOUS GPS STUFF ... i found them very upto date as far indian gps maps and hardware for the stuff is concerned!
i went to itemsofdesire looking for a delhi map .. but to my surprise i could get gps maps for mumbai, hyderabad, bangalore and chennai tooo! coool1
This post has been removed by the author.
ya i m ready fr dis nw technology..... i m regrously waiting fr dis..........
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