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The Benefits of a Subscription Service
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Happy Monday everyone! This post is going to focus on something that always seems to come up in conversations regarding mobile navigation applications vs. stand alone personal navigation devices (PNDs) . . . is the subscription service worth it? It isn’t uncommon for one of our mobile navigation applications, such as TeleNav GPS Navigator, or our connected PND, TeleNav Shotgun, to receive a great review for the features and navigation experience they provide only to have people point out that the subscription cost impacts their overall opinion of the product. Here’s an example of an excellent review from the folks at Kicking Tires that takes this stance. After reading the review, we though it might be helpful to point out some of the benefits a subscription service provides over a traditional PND.
- Map information is continually updated - Some people might not realize that the major map providers issue map updates every quarter to ensure that new roads and addresses are continually added and updated. With most stand alone PNDs that carry a low price tag, you basically get the most recent map that was on the device when you purchased it. If you plan to have your device for three years without paying to upgrade it, you’re being routed on three year old maps. Think about if you bought a mobile phone and you only had access to the contacts you knew at the time you bought it. It wouldn’t be that helpful for new people you meet in the future if they couldn’t be added to your contacts, would it? If you want to update your PND to ensure you have updated maps, it’s going to cost you. Now that $100 device suddenly becomes a $200 device. With a subscription service, you can always be assured that you are driving with the most up-to-date maps delivered by the mapping providers.
- Updated Points of Interest (POIs) - Similar to maps, business listings often change. What was once your favorite Chinese Restaurant may now be an antique shop. While many of the low priced PNDs feature POI databases ranging from approximately 3-5 million listings, this is stagnant data. Once again, if your device is three years old, than you are taking the chance of navigating to a restaurant that closed two years before. Your device has no way of knowing this information. Just the other day a friend of mine told me that he was using a GPS device to find a grocery store and when he arrived at the destination, there was no grocery store in sight. Again, if you want to keep your POI database updated on lower priced PNDs, it’s going to cost you extra. Not with a subscription service such as ours, which keeps an up-to-date database of more than 10 million business listings.
- Connectivity is Power - One of the key differentiators between subscription services and standard PNDs is the connectivity a subscription service offers. With connectivity, your device goes from being filled with stagnant data to a dynamic data machine that can deliver real-time information that impacts your daily decisions. One example would be the delivery of daily gas prices, which becomes very handy in summer months when gas prices traditionally rise. In these economic times, if you can save $3 at the pump from finding the best gas prices in your area, it adds up. Three tanks of gas pays for your subscription service. Another example is the ability to receive traffic commute alerts. Through connectivity, our service can send you an SMS or e-mail alert every day at your chosen time to let you know what’s happening at that moment in time along your commute. If it’s better to stay in the office to get a little more work done than to drive right into a traffic jam, you’ll know. A $100 PND won’t do that for you.
- Convenience - One of the most basic, but often overlooked benefits of a subscription service is the convenience it provides to you. It’s easy and convenient to use your phone, something you have with you all of the time, for multiple functions. TeleNav GPS Navigator provides a full-featured, connected navigation experience. So why lug around two devices with you when you can get everything you need from your phone? It also makes it much easier to pull out your phone at any time, whether you’re walking around an unfamiliar area or in your home trying to plan an upcoming trip, and fire up the navigation application to get the information you need. Although some PNDs have pedestrian modes, it’s not very convenient to pop it out of your car and take it with you when walking around a city. It’s just another thing you have to carry around. I think we all have enough gadgets and gizmos to tote around the way it is, so the more we can fit into one device, the better.
There are obviously benefits to both solutions and based on your economic situation and the features you want from your device, you can be certain there is a device out there that suits your needs. However, if you look at the benefits a subscription service offers, that $9.99 monthly fee might not be unreasonable after all.
Let us know what you think about this topic. As our business continues to change and technology becomes more advanced, I’m sure this conversation is one that won’t end soon.
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