The notion of an iPod touch GPS cradle has two big factors working against it from the start. For one, dedicated navigation units are readily available for as little as $100 (or less) and, in general, get the job done quite well. Secondly, more and more cellphones are becoming more and more capable as navigation devices and, again, are relatively inexpensive (phone contracts aside). On the other hand, a lot of people have iPod touches, and most of them really like their iPod touches. So, in that respect, there is a potentially big market for something like Dual Electronics new iPod touch GPS cradle. Will it actually help carve out a new niche in the crowded navigation market? Read on to find out.Software
Dual's NavAtlas app is a bit on the basic side, but not really lacking in any significant respect compared to a dedicated GPS device. You get full text-to-speech, turn-by-turn navigation, along maps of both the US and Canada, over two million points-of-interest and -- this being an iPod touch app -- the ability to play music while the app is running (although the interruptions can be a tad jarring). Perhaps the biggest downside to the app is that it's a 2GB download (and actually requires about 5GB of space for the install process). That's hardly an insignificant amount of space to give up, especially on a basic 8GB iPod touch, and it's not the sort of app you'll be installing and uninstalling whenever you need it.
Wrap-up
So, the device is a viable alternative to other navigation devices (with a few advantages of its own), but there's one significant issue we haven't yet discussed: the price. Originally intended to run $179, the cradle is now selling for a hefty $199.95, which is the same price as the 8GB iPod touch, and more than many standalone navigation units. There's simply no getting around the fact that it's a tough sell and, if we had to recommend a navigation device, we'd suggest a standalone GPS (assuming you don't already have a smartphone with a good navigation option). At a $100 or less, it might well be a different story but, as it stands, this one is for iPod touch die-hards only.
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