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1. You can hose the portable’s entire file structure (less than 2 hrs of ownership — New Record!) and then buy a new one, replaced the hosed files, and return the duplicate. Try that with a Prius.

2. You can sit in the comfort of your own home drinking beer and watching football while tinkering. I suppose you could do that with a built-in, but I hear things get coolish in Detroit during October…

My main point is that we use these tools because people are fundamentally lazy. We could learn to fold a map, but there’s a flashier (better?) way. We could just trust that one of the next exits will have a Steak ‘N’ Shake or Krusty Burger, but we’d rather look it up for sure. The problem is that the time sensitive information requires some type of updating action, and you can’t always expect the people who have the information to update the information. Their motivations are different from the consumer’s motivation, and neither party agrees on when the information is most useful.

I think one of the most useful things about GeoRSS and GeoPress is that it packages and collates information that is readily available and provides it in a useful way that can be presented in a multitude of formats. Something like this could be integrated into nav systems, but you’ll have to show the information suppliers that it is worth the extra cost.

The VW/Google system appears more useable at first blush, although again, I’d say that gas prices are not time-sensitive. I can look up and down a road and decide if I want to drive an extra 150 yds to save $0.01 per gallon. Again, it depends on the inputs, and there does not seem to be any discussion of those.

While integration with a vehicle’s interior or drive systems is not to be underestimated, I think you are overstating the benefits. Portable nav systems can interpolate distance, and continue to work even when out of satellite range. Remaining out of range for an extended period does cause problems, but it is rare that you would be without a signal for 10 miles, right?

Finally, for those of us with (or about to be with) portable nav systems, the cost savings, ability to install after-market entertainment components, retro-fitting to older cars, transportability to rental cars, and most important, interoperability with our Macs or PCs are strong arguments for a non-manufacturer nav system. Granted, Garmin’s POI loader is not yet Mac compatible (!), but it is easier to upload and evalute travelling salesman-type challenges when you can connect your nav system directly to your home computer.

I like that companies recognize much more can be done with these systems, but I think they’d be better off for now focusing on things that require an update every 6-12 months instead of 6-12 minutes.