TeleNav, a veteran creator of GPS navigation software for cell phones and other mobile devices, enters the competitive GPS hardware market today with the TeleNav Shotgun, a $299 personal navigation device with optional cellular-based Internet service to update its points-of-interest database, provide real-time traffic and fuel-price data, and enable destination entry via Telenav’s Web site and browser plug-ins.
Ironically, the Shotgun appears just a week after Dash Navigation announced that it would be ending production of its groundbreaking Dash Express, the only other GPS navigation device to date with built-in cellular connectivity (which generally is more robust and easier to use than other connections used by GPS devices, such as FM radio, or through Bluetooth-connected cell phones).
However, cellular connectivity doesn’t come cheap. After the free trial, TeleNav Connected Service will cost roughly the same as Dash’s service (TeleNav is charging $10-$12 a month, depending on whether you pay as you go or are willing to pre-pay), but isn’t as innovative. It doesn’t perform regular Yahoo searches, for example, and its APIs aren’t available for other companies to create custom location-based services (Dash offered this feature). However, the company believes the business travelers it targets will be willing to pay for easy access to the bread-and-butter data services it does deliver.
The Shotgun’s compact form factor (it weighs only a tad more than four ounces, is only three-quarters of an inch thick, and has a 4.3-inch LCD display) may also appeal more to frequent travelers than the rather bulky Dash, which would not be suitable for tossing into a purse or briefcase. We’ll be taking a closer look in the next few days.
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