A story about GPS that ran yesterday got me angry. "Navigation gadgets are now so widely available no one needs to worry about getting lost anymore -- except when they're trying to choose the right device." There is no doubt as to the great technology that is GPS and even that for the military it has important applications, but for the vast majority of users, it's just another way that as a society we are getting lazier and dumber. I understand if you are in a foreign country like Israel or Italy and you need to rent a car but you have no idea where you are and can't even read the street signs. For this, I am all for GPS. But when a friend of mine needs it to navigate through a city that he has lived in for 12 years, I begin to wonder. If we as a society can't figure out how to get from point A to point B, what does that say about us? What ever happened to using a good ole map?

Don't misunderstand. I am a big fan of technology because it frees us up to be more productive and to do other things. It's just that when we completely shut off our minds, even for the most basic of tasks, that can't be healthy for society as a whole. If we can't figure out how to get from the bank to the post office, how will we be able to figure out more complex problems?

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 12/8/07.

Is GPS dumbing down society? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Garmin Limited (NASDAQ: GRMN): Garmin is a worldwide provider of navigation and information devices, many of which are enabled by global positioning system technology. Last week, Garmin International announced the nuvi 200W and the nuvi 250W, two new widescreen GPS navigators. With a 4.3-inch color touch screen display and a high-sensitivity internal GPS antenna, the question is, can it trump whatever Apple does?

• Trimble Navigation Limited (NASDAQ: TRMB): Trimble provides advanced positioning product solutions, typically to commercial and government users. Last month it received an $8.8M purchase order from the U.S. Marine Corps and signed an agreement with Cox Communications. How formidable a competitor would Apple be?

• SiRF Technology Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: SiRF): SiRF is a supplier of GPS semiconductor solutions, offering a wide-range of GPS chip sets and other products for high-volume markets. Earlier this month, the company announced SiRFDiRect technology, what they touted as a "navigation breakthrough." Could Apple steal their thunder?

Apple reportedly developing navigation device originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.