No more phone-based GPS...

[balthazarr]

From http://www.theage.com.au/digital-lif...0918-fv1v.html

Sat nav apps could be heading for a dead end
STEPHEN HUTCHEON
September 21, 2009 - 11:22AM Comments 40

TomTom's new iPhone app in use with the yet-to-be released car-kit.
Strict new road rules relating to the use of mobile phones by drivers are threatening to kill the burgeoning market in apps and services that enable smartphones to be used as satellite navigation systems.

The legal changes will affect iPhones that use apps made by TomTom, Navigon and Sygic; Nokia phones using its Ovi Maps; Telstra phones using its Whereis Navigator GPS service and any other service or software that enables a mobile phone to be used as an in-car navigation device.

Victoria will roll out the new rules, which will limit drivers' use of mobile phones and satellite navigation devices, on November 9.

A spokesperson for VicRoads, the Victorian Government's roads and traffic authority, said that under the laws - as applied in Victoria - it would be illegal for drivers to navigate using a mobile that doubles as a satellite navigation device.

"A phone will only be allowed to be used for its primary purpose," the spokeswoman said in a telephone interview. "If it's a phone, it's a phone."

The rules are part of the Australian Road Rule 8th Amendment Package, a set of road and traffic laws that were approved by all state and territory Road Ministers in February.

The iPhone voice-activated, turn-by-turn navigation apps produced by TomTom and Navigon sell for $99.99. The Sygic app costs $79.99.

All are sold through Apple's online App Store but none warn prospective buyers about the coming changes to the road rules, which could dramatically lower their utility.

TomTom's app was launched last month and is already the Australian Apple App Store's biggest grossing app.

The company plans to begin selling a bespoke car kit to cradle the TomTom-enabled phone from next month.

TomTom Australian marketing manager Chris Kearney said that the new Victorian laws would not stop the sale of the app.

"What we are seeing just reinforces our safety message around [the fact that] you must use a mounted device [the car kit] in a car and not interact with the device whilst you are driving," he said. "Essentially, it's about using the device in a correct manner."

The basic Nokia Ovi Maps service is free with the voice-guided car navigation service as part of a premium service.

Telstra's Whereis Navigator is a subscription satellite navigation service.

"Telstra is planning for the introduction of the new road rules in Victoria and we are currently in discussions with VicRoads," a Telstra spokeswoman said in an email.

"Telstra will communicate directly with its customers should these changes affect the way in which Whereis Navigator can be used."

The new laws prohibit a driver from even holding a mobile phone, cradling one on their shoulder or resting it on their laps - even if the phone is not in use.

Drivers will only be able to use mobile phones if they are placed in purpose-made cradles and operation is entirely hands-free.

Those caught breaking the new Victorian laws face a $234 fine and the loss of three demerit points.

VicRoads says research has shown that a driver is four times more likely to crash while using a mobile phone.

In Victoria, the act of driving while using a mobile ranks among the state's top three driving offences.

A spokeswoman for the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority said the RTA was "still working through practical issues" and was unable to say when the harmonised laws would come into effect in NSW.

"NSW road rules are based on the Australian Road Rules to ensure uniformity with road rules elsewhere in Australia," she said in an emailed statement.

"States and territories are not compelled to implement Australian Road Rules."

I don't see the problem using a GPS-enabled phone as a sat-nav unit if it is properly cradled.

Is this another cash grab? I didn't fork over $100 for the TomTom iPhone App, but I'd be rather annoyed (filter friendly way of putting it), if I had.