Google Maps Navigation for Android is Going to Be Great!

Google announces turn-by-turn GPS navigation today for the Android. It’s currently in beta testing, and will be available for FREE on phones using Google’s Android 2.0 operating system. The GPS navigation includes a tons of unique features (many of these are part of the features you’d see planning a route using Google Maps through a regular web browser).

Google just forced the traditional GPS navigation companies to rethink their business models releasing what may be a far superior product for free. It is not a standalone navigation app. Rather it taps into a lot of the resources Google makes available on the Web, including Google Maps, Streetview, voice recognition, and sophisticated search. Google is happy to give its navigation app away for free because it leverages many existing technologies it has already built for the Web, and it encourages more people to use Web-capable phones and do local searches on them. Its strategy is to give the software away for free, and make money on the search ads.

GPS navigation apps are among the most expensive, and most lucrative, of all mobile apps. However, these paid navigation apps (Navigon, TomTom, CoPilot, MapQuest, GoKivo and Sygic Mobile) are at an immediate disadvantage.  Maybe the race will become which company starts licensing the most useful third party data to differentiate themselves?  The big question is when does Google Maps start incorporating points of interest features from users?  PhotoEnforced.com is an example of a map data source where the advertising business model is completely aligned with Google Maps.

Google could very well make it available to other phones as well, and that is what has investors worried. The new Google Maps Navigation app will be included on Motorola's upcoming Android phone, the Motorola Droid, and will provide turn-by-turn directions based on up-to-date maps and business listings from Google Maps. The Google Maps Navigation software will also be made available to other Android devices running the newly unveiled Android 2.0 software.

Shares in GPS manufacturers Garmin and TomTom fell today following the annoucement from Google that upcoming Android handsets will include free navigation software.  Following the announcement shares of Garmin fell 17.2% to $31.88 and TomTom shares fell more than 20% to €8.11.