GPS Solutions: Wrong Business models

I walked by a Sony store in Heathrow this Sunday and well, well what did I see ... a GPS solution for cameras.

Now that's a nice one and that too selling for $150 . You might want to ask me why I find this interesting ?
GPS solutions used in your Tom Toms and albeit the fact that they are making you even more reliant on others' knowledge they are gaining ground in Europe . Some companies have interesting products that are really driving prices and areas of these devices down expecting to capture market share. But this is not really a sustainable business model. As more hardware providers provide for cheaper solutions software providers will provide even cheaper one. That's red ocean for you.

I don't find the business model interesting. Hardware or software GPS solutions for tagging pictures sold on a royalty basis is not where the value is going to be captures. It's actually where value is going to be totally squeezed out.

On the other hand I would be interested in paying for a service which could use GPS tracking for track and trace of costly electronic devices as well as geo tagging photos in community based (MySpace) eco systems.

Let's take for example this amazing story on the number of laptops PDAs etc lost in taxis of London, well with a track and trace GPS based service based on some hardware or software solution inside these devices you'd have no problem finding the whereabouts of your gadgets.

How about mothers worried about the whereabouts of their kids. Adidas and such a service would be a great solution isn't it.


I've just pointed out two businesses for which people would really be willing to pay. The whole thing is to look at niches which are not yet fulfilled and think of how to create recurring revenues, how to create a community around products and have the shortest possible sales cycles.