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Let's Rock! The New iPod GPS.

Yes, you read the headline. Apple's next big event, to be held on September 9th, is called
"Let's Rock". And the image included within their invite seems to show a silhouette of an iPod listener jumping off of a rock.

So what's this all about?

Clearly it is about an iPod with new GPS capabilities. Take an iPod, add a GPS receiver chip (like the iPhone), and install a few hundred megabytes of map data (like most handheld GPS units have) and you have a fully capable Apple-branded handheld GPS.

The GPS market has quickly turned into a HUGE market, and it would be silly for Apple to ignore this market. And there is no doubt that Jobs thinks that he can do a much better job than Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom.

Couple that with the fact that virtually all of the GPS devices out there leave much to be desired in terms of usability, extensibility, and update-ability. An iPod-style device will address all these issues, and can undoubtably be priced to radically change the GPS marketplace.

But wait. This looks like it is for road or outdoors. So! That seems to imply that Apple will make it a bit less fragile and more waterproof than the existing iPod line. That seems to be a natural extension to the iPod - there are over one hundred aftermarket waterproofing products available for the iPod.

So there you have it. Apple is going after the GPS market. My money is on Apple - the other players in this market are weak at best.
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