Mobile Phone & GPS Trends in the Powersports Industry



Apple's iwatch

Just when you thought the mobile phone craze was leveling off, news of Apple’s patent filing for the iwatch hits the blogs, and stories about Google’s Project Glass (smart glasses) heat up.

These are both interesting ways to access your phone, but not likely something a motorcyclist or driver will use to read maps.  The phone manufactures have been hammering out new cellphone models for two decades now.  In the 90s we saw them migrate from car phones to portables, and in the 2000s we saw them get smaller and smaller so folks could keep them in a pocket.   Then the Palm Pilot and the phone merged into what we now call a Smartphone.  In today’s market, data use has become a major part of what a cellular mobile device does and the screens have started to get bigger.  This trend has continued from the Galaxy 2 & 3 to the Galaxy Note, Motorola, LG and HTC all have their 4.8” screen products as well.  Meanwhile Apple has sat by and only increased the length of their popular iphone’s touting your thumb reach as a reason to keep it narrow.  Rumors abound that Apple will be introducing the iphone 5 in three sizes this summer.  This will bring an interesting, but most likely an end to the bigger- is-better wars.   While Apple has dominated the US market, Samsung dominates the world by a wide margin.  When we have a choice of screen sizes in the same phone, it will be interesting to see which one sells the most.

The auto manufactures have jumped on board adding Bluetooth capability to most cars.  Look for this trend to continue. More capability over the Bluetooth technology will be added, like streaming music to your car radio, and streaming maps to indash displays.  Your car will likely know you by the phone you carry in your pocket and adjust the seats to your favorite position and greet you by name when you climb aboard.   

Cyclone Custom Phone mount

So how does all of this technology translate over to the powersports industry?   Most riders already own a smartphone, and they tend to use it for the GPS functionality via stopping and checking.  While this is the safest way to check the map while riding, it certainly isn’t what folks really want.   Handlebar mounting clamps for cell phones and GPS are a hot item, along with waterproof cases for the phones like Otterbox and Lifeproof.  While these are cheap aftermarket solutions, nobody really wants to put their $300+ replacement cost phone out on a handlebar mount in the elements.  Not to mention the wiring mess involved in connecting it up.  Look for new innovations in mounting hardware for the phone like the Cyclone Custom Console, which allows the phone to be seen and heard while keeping it safe and locked into a slick looking compartment.  

Longer term we may see in-dash displays from the OEMs that connect to your phone via Bluetooth. As voice recognition gets better there won’t be much need for accessing the phone’s touch screen.   A few voice commands will push the play button on the music you want to hear and set the map for your destination.  OEMs will ultimately develop a heads-up display in the windshield to connect to the rider’s smartphone, eliminating the need to see the display on the phone.   

 

Gary Schultze is a Mechanical Designer with over 25 years of new product development experience and 10 years of mobile electronics management and distribution experience.   His company, Cyclone Custom Corporation, manufactures and distributes unique mobile electronics connectivity products for motorcycles and the Powersports industry.  

For more information, visit: http://www.cyclonecustom.com