This story appears in the
May 2004 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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Mobile warriors can't afford to get lost on the way to a
business meeting, and it's no fun circling around looking for
the hotel you booked for the night. A Global Positioning System
(GPS) makes sense for entrepreneurs on the road or their on-the-go
sales forces. The technology has been around for awhile, but now
it's more popular, user-friendly and affordable (basic GPS
devices can cost less than $100). ABI Research, a technology market
research firm, sees the market for GPS hitting $22 billion by
2008.
One full-featured system is Belkin's $299 (all prices street) Bluetooth
GPS navigation system. It works with your laptop or Pocket PC to
provide navigation with visual and voice prompts. All-in-one
devices that don't require external hardware are also
available. Garmin is a major manufacturer of GPS devices for all
uses. Its $550 iQue 3600 integrates GPS with a Palm OS handheld, a
convenient two-for-one bundle for mobile entrepreneurs.
A growing business use for GPS is keeping track of company cars.
You can make sure they're going where they're supposed to
and aren't taking any side trips. A GPS system with all the
bells and whistles isn't cheap, but businesspeople who are
always on the go and covering new ground can justify the
expense.