I Don’t Quite Understand the Purpose of GPS in Notebooks

Don’t get me wrong here. I love GPS (Global Positioning System): the satellite constellation that allows one to determine their location pretty much anywhere in the world. To think that the government opened up a useful military technology that can be used freely by anyone, for the good of the public, is quite awesome, and something that I frequently take advantage of with several small devices with integrated GPS — but what use does GPS have in notebooks?Recently we let you know that the Sony VAIO X ultra-portable notebook is now official, and it includes built-in GPS. The VAIO X definitely isn’t the first though, there have been several past netbooks and notebooks that feature GPS apparently with the intention of providing turn-by-turn directions for users. But is this even practical?

I’m not sure about you, but I certainly wouldn’t bring a Sony VAIO X, or other notebook in to the car and set it on my dashboard for navigation. Not only would this be dangerous to the notebook without rigging up some sort of mounting solution (for which I don’t believe there is any official offering), but it is dangerous to have so much of your windshield taken up by such a screen. Is this how companies are intending these GPS-equipped notebooks to be used?

I really can’t even brainstorm any other semi-useful scenarios for including GPS in a notebook. I’m doubting that you’ll be taking an expensive notebook with you out geocaching, and I doubt companies are doing this for the wardriving community…. But how about just finding your way around a new city? Again, notebooks aren’t exactly designed to be used while walking around, and one would able to use a simple and free service like Google Maps or Bing Maps, which both offer methods of detecting your location within a reasonable radius, without the use of GPS.

Seems to me that GPS is more of marketing feature, so that companies can stick another bullet point the box and charge more, rater than a practical inclusion.

Is there anyone out there with an actual use that justifies GPS hardware in a notebook? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: gps, Notebook, Notebooks

Comments

Michael Goetz

Don't forget marine navigation. Built in GPS is a boon on board.

Michael Bissell

I use Google Maps on my Windows Mobile phone all the time to find businesses nearby. That "nearby" bit is important because when I'm traveling I often have no idea where I am (the cab driver knows where the hotel is, I don't have to).

I usually work around this by typing in the name of the hotel or the office that I'm at, and Google finds it, but there are the times I don't have enough info to really find where I am, right now, on Google, and asking someone "Where am I?" doesn't exactly give that executive air of confidence I like to exude at business meetings.

Having GPS on my laptop would give me a lot more geographically relevant info with a better interface than my phone -- and damn straight that's an actual use that justifies GPS in a notebook.

(Follow me on twitter @bissell)

Ben

Is the extra cost worth it though? If you already have a phone that has GPS, you should easily be able to establish your location and then use it in Google Maps, or you could even use Google Maps locate feature to find out where you are without using GPS at all. Like you said, at very least, you'll always know at least the hotel you are staying in and can locate yourself that way.

What I'm trying to say is that GPS on a smartphone is much more practical than in a laptop, because a smartphone can actually go with you and be easily used during transit.

Michael Bissell

While the "always on" and easy to carry nature of a smartphone makes GPS almost a given, the interface will always be limited. Looking up my location on my phone, then translating it to the laptop is an extra step that built in GPS on the laptop would negate.

Not only that, but if you read my blog "Socializing is more than Social Media" you'll know that I believe real-world connections are important, and social media is still too random -- if you're in the coffee shop and want to connect with your, ahem, Tweeple, a GPS tool in your laptop can make it easier to find them and announce your location.

Integrating web apps and desktop apps with a GPS location will open up a lot of tools for social media that assume your location or use less precise city or zip code locations. I'm sure you'll see a lot of exciting stuff happen that you can't visualize yet.

Relying on the smartphone for those features will have to wait until we get bigger screens, better processing and more video/embedded web objects (Flash is coming, but not to the iPhone).