Google has an new niche in the market, it has teamed up with Gilbarco Veeder-Root to put all the gas pumps in Google maps. and… to supply all its gas-stations with a tabletpc with googlemaps on it to get directions from.

so when you’re lost and refuelling your car, you can check your location at the pump and search for a way back to known territory. You can even print the direction on the receipt printer in the gas station. one of the reasons google provided is; to prevent people using their mobilephone or PDA while driving, since this can be dangerous to yourself and your fellow road users

The theory behind it is: Its a way to allow men who are lost, and to proud to ask for directions, be able to find the route again without losing face to their fellow men…… All good and well, but what difference does it make? In my opinion walking in a gas station and buying a map or…. buying new batteries or a carkit for my navigator isn’t that big of a problem. And I certainly won’t have to tell everybody that I don’t know where I am. If i’m in real need, I can always sent in my wife and pretend to be sleeping.

Now its true that the PDA with navigator or mobile phone with navigation is still only a small part of the navigating market, but shares are going up, almost with everything you buy thats car orientated you get a navigator from tom tom, garmin etc. only set back is you have to buy the road maps separately.

but the market is growing, so it looks like Google is investing in an market thats shrinking instead of growing…. maybe they want to implement it later inthe google software and you can plan your trip on google maps with all the gas stations in it and set waypoints where you have to refuel… etc. etc.

Lets see where this brings google.

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don’t want to carry two phones, one for private use and the other for your work? Not counting the extra PDA….
there is a new solution on the market, a dual sim phone. More and more company’s are producing phones that can combine office and private calls on two simcards in one dual sim phone.

The big company’s aren’t interested as yet because of the deals with the providers. But the smaller producers from for example China are producing dual sim phones that are capable enough to compete with the western main products.
Except for some connection capabilities like blue tooth the dual sim phone is quite capable of synchronizing with your PC.
Maybe in the future the dual sim phone is even integrated in the smart phone niche of the market and you can have your dual sim smart phone/PDA in one, the size will not matter since every year the gadgets get smaller, faster and more compatible with everything you need on your businesses, road trips, holiday’s and whatever.

For the moment i’d check the Asian market and by doing so force the main company’s to get a look in this undiscovered market of the dual sim phones in western society.

below is picture of a dual sim phone

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Popularity: 63% [?]