[alister]

> My Garmin FR235 is an indispensable part of my running gear, and no mobile phone has come even close to replicating it.

I like a standalone self-contained GPS over a smartphone-based GPS because of (a) no dependence on a cell network (in theory, a smartphone GPS shouldn't been dependent either, but they often give problems if you don't have an active connection), (b) durability/ruggedness, (c) water resistance, (d) swappable batteries, and (e) privacy (no phoning home, movements not sent to the cloud, and untrackable, although unfortunately all of these are becoming less true with newer model Garmins).

But the biggest problem with all standalone self-contained GPS units (not talking about car units) is the horrible screen resolution. Neither Garmin nor any other handheld GPS maker makes a model with anything approaching even the cheapest smartphone. They have screen resolutions like 240 x 400, and often worse, which makes using maps a terrible experience compared to a smartphone.

There's an unfilled market for a handheld GPS with a decent display.

[madengr]

The transflective (direct sunlight readable) screens seem to be resolution limited. It’s an issue with industrial laptops too.