The Smartphone vs. the Dedicated GPS Device

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The GPS navigation system offers many compelling safety benefits to travelers going into unfamiliar territory, including keeping us from getting lost, guiding us to the nearest service station, rest area or hospital, and allowing us to report our precise location to emergency responders. Though the presence of another electronic device in the car can be a distraction, those of us who recall fumbling with big, unwieldy paper roadmaps while trying to keep our eyes on the street see the in-vehicle GPS revolution as a net benefit, particularly with the addition of voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions.
Today there’s a new revolution in progress, specifically the growing availability and sophistication of GPS Navigation features on smartphones, such as the iPhone, Android and Google Nexus One. However, from a safety standpoint, there are strong arguments as to why the GPS on your cell phone is best utilized while you’re stopped or sitting in the passenger seat and a dedicated in-vehicle GPS Navigation device remains a better choice:
1. Eyes Ahead – Read With The Ears: Among the principal risks of electronic products in the automobile is the fact that they draw your eyes away from the street ahead. Practically all dedicated in-car GPS systems provide spoken turn-by-turn directions (“in one mile, turn left”). The best units also feature text-to-speech capability, i.e., they read the street names aloud (“in one mile, turn left on Main Street”). Smartphone applications don’t consistently provide these functions and the speaker volume and sound quality is typically much better on dedicated GPS Navigation devices, which have larger loudspeakers.
2. Screen Size: Even with …