The launch of the recent Apple 3G iphone has captured all the headlines with analysts, critics and the media all lavishing praise and predicting an avalanche of sales.

However, only 12 months ago GPS devices such as the Navman, etc. were the next big thing. But not everything is looking so cherry ripe for GPS devices now days.

GPS has both been celebrated and potentially commoditised by the new iphone. By bundling it in and adding is as App, Apple have disrupted the Satnav GPS device makers with a ‘good enough’ piece of technology.

This is classic Apple innovation strategy - take what has already been proven as an attractive solution on its own and bundle it into a great piece of design. So while the 3G iphone doesn’t offer the top level specs of a real GPS device, it offers a solution that is ‘good enough’ and also provides access to a truly innovative piece of software in the form of Loopt.

In little than 3 years, GPS navigtaion devices have come and, we now suspect, are going, as the mobile phone becomes the all in one device and continues to cannibliase other anciallary markets.

So what impact will this have on Navigation device makers? We suspect not necessarily a good one. It is quite possible that GPS device will face the same fate as the digital camera- being a victim of disruptive innovation

Michael R Johnson