Case Analysis 3 - Personal Navigation Devices (Pnds)

Case Analysis 3 - Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs)

Why have Personal Navigation Devices become popular? What technologies are required to facilitate the success of PNDs?

I peg three main reasons for Personal Navigation Devices becoming so popular other the years. Those three reasons are: Convenience, Safety and Efficiency. First and foremost I’d say that the convenience of PND’s drives their popularity. We now live in a time of immediate gratification. We need things right now. A PND allows you to get multiple routes to where you need to go along with time estimates based on current traffic right now. Previous to this innovation you would have to use a map and maybe catch traffic on the radio. Second I note safety. Now more than ever neighborhoods can drastically change in mere blocks. These systems allow you to see your route or avoid certain areas. Finally I note efficiency. Take today for an example. Today I was driving my son back to his Mom’s house. I drove 20 min to get to the highway on ramp where I was met by flashing police lights closing off the ramp. Having lived in the state of Florida for less than a year, would have had no other way of knowing how to get to her house if I hadn’t had my PND in the car. Otherwise I would have to stop and ask someone, call her and ask for directions, or even lookup directions on a site online and try to read the directions as we were driving. That would not just be inefficient but also dangerous.

The technologies involved GPS systems today can get really deep and complex but I there are 2 basic technologies that I will briefly mentation. The first is The GPS satellite system. This is a system of 24 satellites that are orbiting the earth at about 12,000 miles above us. The satellites were put there by the US Department of Defense. The network was originally intended for military applications but was made available for civilian use at no cost in the 1980’s. The satellites make about two...