Vodafone's Paid Navigation App Folds, Unable to Beat Free
Vodafone's Paid Navigation App Folds, Unable to Beat Free
Posted 03/12/2010 at 6:02pm
| by Ryan Whitwam
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In January 2009 Vodafone made what seemed like a good investment buying mapping software maker Wayfinder for about $30 million. A year later it’s looking like a pretty awful deal in the wake of free navigation solutions from both Google and Nokia. Facing the inevitable, Vodafone is closing Wayfinder saying, “We could not charge for something that others gave away for free.”
Vodafone has also invested several million additional dollars in Wayfinder, so it can’t be easy to walk away. It’s unlikely they’d do so without being sure they could not compete with Nokia’s Ovi Maps. This really isn’t much of a surprise, especially considering Nokia’s huge presence in Europe. Google Navigation isn’t even available yet in Europe, but clearly Vodafone wasn’t going to sit around and wait for two free solutions to start eating their lunch.
This may be the eventual fate of all the carrier branded navigation apps. Considering the poor quality of many of them, that might not be a bad thing. Would access to a free navigation app from Google or Nokia sway you in your next phone purchase?
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LGA1156
March 15, 2010 at 12:59pm
On work trips, nothing beats having my droid there and ready to go for navigation duties
QuakindudeMod
March 13, 2010 at 8:40pm
I'll also stay with the car GPS. But the cool thing is, when Google and the like are giving Navi options away for free, people like AT&T will have to stop charging $10 a month for theirs or lose customers.
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JohnP
March 13, 2010 at 3:34pm
Its the fumble factor. I have the GPS set up and installed in the car with all my way points. Just start the car and go. To have to pull out the phone, set up the dock, turn on the app and wait for a signal before driving off just is too much hassle.
Sometimes dedicated beats out "capable". My GPS gives me the speed of the car but I would not want to pay less for a car without a speedometer just cause something else is capable of doing the same thing.
COMMANDER_COOK
March 12, 2010 at 9:49pm
Someday, when I get a smartphone, it will be an android phone their free navigation.
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Athlonite
March 12, 2010 at 7:07pm
so do those who paid for this fail boat get their money back now or do they get stuck with a useless piece of garbage thats only going to be good if you want to commit suicide
Play till it breaks then learn how to fix it!
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