@Bill - You crease me up, you really do! Keyboard icon, natch.
"represented a step forward in 2004"
No, it didn't.
RDS had been around for ages then.
If it had been 1984, I would have agreed it was a step forward. If it were 1994, it would be more of a step sideways.
In 2004 the tech was there anyway, and the mobile phone networks supported GPRS* which is clearly the better mode of transmission.
*Even if vodafone said that there was no fault as other users would have reported it, and we spoke to the _only_ other GPRS user in the area and he had also noticed the fault!
I was tempted to go for a Garmin in the near future with an MSN Direct receiver. Now I know to stick with the ones with public radio support. Thing is, how would a GPS navigator use cell phone networks to get detailed traffic updates? Haven't seen such a device yet.
I think I still have my CDPD modem for my handspring visor which I used back in 2000-2002 time frame, sounds like a better protocol to use than FM. Unlimited data plan for $20/mo or so. Looks like the technology started out in around 1993. I was on AT&T wireless at the time and I think they dismantled their CDPD infrastructure a few years ago.
http://www.emory.edu/BUSINESS/et/cdpd/
"As stated above, the two technologies are different. CDPD is connection-less. It sends each packet intermittently, when there is "space" available. Circuit Switching on the other hand, sends the data over a continuous connection. For this reason, CDPD would be the optimal solution for a customer who is sending information which is both "short" and "bursty", the circuit switch solution would be optimal when sending a large data transmission. Another important difference is that CDPD uses less power than circuit switching. Since the information is sent in short bursts, the device only has to be at high levels of power for short intervals. Additionally, CDPD has a "sleep" mode which allows the device to conserve power when not in use, without logging off of the network. Therefore, a mobile computing device will have longer battery life using the CDPD technology rather than circuit switched connections. "
I had never heard of this MSN direct thing myself..
"Thing is, how would a GPS navigator use cell phone networks to get detailed traffic updates? Haven't seen such a device yet."
How about a GPS Navigator (perhaps one which sounds like a pair of drums?) using bluetooth to connect to your mobile phone, using the phone's 3G connection to download updates?
Hm... prior art...
This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
Microsoft does this kind of thing all of the time.
That's why I wouldn't put any faith in anything associated with Microsoft, not ever.
MSN is the longest that they have ever supported any product.
They just suddenly cut things off anytime they feel like it and leave the people who bought into it twisting in the wind.
They do it on a regular basis.
They could easily do the same thing to Xbox owners when they decide to market something new.
Just cut off the service and that would be the end of it pretty much.
I am not saying that they are going to do that but it could easily happen.
That is the biggest reason I won't buy into any of their stuff.
The main problem probably wasn't that this service was only broadcast. I guess the main problem was that this service was only provided by one company. If stations themselves would have been able to use that service and there would have been a really open standard, it might have caught on.
What country are you in?
In the UK, my S60 phone is a phone, and a couple of paid-for apps add a satnav (mature version of TomTom) and a detailed live traffic info over GPRS/3G app (www.TrafficTv.com).
The two traffic apps co exist rather than integrate, but it's mostly OK by me.
Anyway as long as you don't mind Google knowing everything about everyone including where you are at any time and even where everybody's WiFi access points are, Google will surely have it all integrated in one app shortly. Have you tried Google Maps for Mobile? It knows your WiFi AP's MAC, and where it is, courtesy of Skyhook. And nearly everyone else's too... frightening. DO NOT WANT, thank you.
You must be American with you love of garmin over here in Euroland we back a company that has done that for a while now. The sound of drums.
