Car Navigation Systems Plot a Course Forward Against Phone Apps<br />In-dash navigation systems will be getting smarter, not just learning your preferences and using data connections for timely updates,<br />but crowdsourcing sensor information from connected vehicles to assess traffic problems and road conditions — even guiding you around a newly formed pothole.<br />That’s the problem facing carmakers trying to sell built-in navigation systems when superior alternatives such as Apple’s Maps, Google Maps<br />and Waze are available for free to anyone with a smartphone — which is almost everybody.<br />“Pressure from Google Maps and Apple Maps made automobile manufacturers realize they have<br />to step up with over-the-air updates of their maps and their software,” Mr. Goddijn said.<br />“All the car manufacturers will need to share that data.”<br />But for now, many carmakers bundle their navigation systems with other features,<br />forcing buyers to take one in order to get something else they actually want.<br />Garmin and TomTom — companies that became best known for GPS units<br />that sit atop the dash — are also major providers of mapping data and in-dash user interfaces to car manufacturers.
