I wonder if this will do any better than any other cell phone GPS program. i.e. will it work if you are in an area WITHOUT cell service? The stand alone ones do.

This is truely a great idea Except most people do not have a mount for there phone,which means they have to hold it or just sit it in a cup holder.And if they hold it and a cop spots them it many states they will get a ticket for using a phone while driving.

They dont have mounts yet... but given a choice between buying a mount and using your cell phone that you always carry around anyways or buying a separate GPS device,i think its an easy choice.

I have always wanted google to make navigation device,even with a gps in my car i still go to google maps for directions.

seriously, why don't we turn windscreens into LCD screens and just hook it up to the internet?
and as soon as cars get fully AI-automatized, "driving" simply becomes an excuse to kill some time playing facebook-civilization :P

Cell GPS is flawed... satelite works everywhere.

Do you have a map for that? = )

G1 Android phone has GPS (Cell) and (Satelite)

So yes, I have a map for that!

I don't believe it is the death of Garmin or others simply because some users (like me) do not shell out 30-40$ extra a month for a data package.
my mobile garmin uses no data, since all its maps are downloading beforehand on my computer and stored on the microSD in my phone. No data used, just plain GPS.

Although if I did have a data plan ... this Google stuff is just awesome. You have to wonder though how much data it will chew up every month ...

Maybe make all data available to download beforehand state-by-state or regions only ...

$30/month for data? Sprint's is only $15... even less if you get their "everything" plan. If you look at the yearly cost of keeping your Garmin maps up to date (and even then, they're MONTHS out of date when you get them, you're already spending about $9/month just for the maps. If you look at Google's site for this product, you can download regions. AND, most smartphones have real GPS... not just cell-based GPS. Cell/Sat GPS is superior in every way to Sat-only GPS. As for no mounts... ummm... every Wal-Mart in the world has universal mounts that will work with virtually every cellphone made.

Google Maps mobile will never take off globally unless google allows you to store map data on your device. Unlike the operators in the US and Europe, in most countries there is no such thing as an unlimited data plan so having to download maps every time you run the application will be a huge turn off for a lot of people.

While the WOW factor is MAJOR on Google GPS, I have to wonder just HOW MUCH DATA is that streaming.
Remember that when your driving you need the information almost instantly, and I can image my phone chunking building a picture of the turn I have to make in say 300 feet....

But it LOOKS really cool...

Jonathan Gleich

Now if only Google could serve up reliable directions. Google Maps has given me incorrect exits 3 times in the last three months...

I've always wondered why Google hasn't partnered with a hardware vendor to put out a Google-map powered standalone GPS device.

Store the maps on the device itself, update via USB with the latest Google Maps. Simple.

I think this puts Navitech more at risk than anyone as the major, if not the only map provider to both standalone GPS and in-car solutions.

Down Under (Australia) our stupid Lawmakers think that this is too distracting and are now thinking of banning/making it illegal to use a "phone" as any other device (so no GPS, etc).

Me thinks these politicians have never heard of a "smart phone".

I think it is a great idea. I want to see a complete PC interface in the car that uses the front window like a HUD in a fighter jet. Take advantage of every kind of data. Why not? If paranoid states want to stop cell usage get the car manufactures working on a HUD for our car. It can work and work well. Mass produced the cost would be negligible and it could be used for so many things. We are required to look at our dashboards to keep up with the speed and other issues, why not put a couple of other items on the dash as well. Make them like idiot lights with a voice interface.

As far as Google they will be able to use their satellite data and superimpose it on top of the mad grid too. I love that feature now. It would be useful in a car too. We Americans use our cars a bit different than the rest of the world I think because other countries are always making fun of us for damn near living in our vehicles. I want all of the same comforts I have at home when I drive so what is the big deal about that? I hope I see before I die a way to go places without having to drive all of the way myself. Get on the freeway and follow a buried loop in the roadway to the exit I want to get off at. We are getting close. I love to drive too, but it will not break my heart to have some help doing those 500 mile a day drives to where ever. Go Google! Cheers all.

I have a part-time job as a chauffeur/limo driver and have been relying on Verizons VZ Navigator for several months now (since our managers at the limo company decided they were too lazy to update the Magellans and told us we needed to buy our own GPS devices...grrr). Anyhow. I have found that VZ Navigator works pretty darn well. It gives me live traffic updates and I can find gas stations/prices wherever I am and it can find all types of places either in my immediate vicinity or in the direction that I am going (including a tiny old schoolhouse in Brawley, CA, aka 'Middle of Nowhere, CA', when I was taking a bride & groom to their wedding reception). I have been quite happy with it so far. I even used it while on a trip to the East coast when my best friend and I drove all around Salem, MA (tricky to say the least) as well as our voyage to NYC from Boston. It gave me great directions!