Polaris Snow Trail App

[Canuck]

I'm on a PC, so can't download this Mac/Android app, but the fact that Polaris is in the 'mapping' business suggests that the barriers to entry are low. Not a knock against Polaris - it's just 'why would a manufacturer get into the mapping business'? The app is free, but the product appears to only show US trails and Canadian roads, for Victory motorcycle riders.

http://www.appbrain.....mobile.polaris

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The press release (from Summer, 2011) is here:

MINNEAPOLIS (July 12, 2011) ---- Two new mobile phone apps from Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) have hit the market for Apple iPhone/iPad and Android phones/tablets. Developed in partnership with Broadcast Weather, LLC, the new mobile apps combine Weather Nation’s interactive weather services with Google-based maps to enhance the riding experience for snowmobilers (the “Snow Trails” app) and Victory Motorcycles riders (the “Victory Rides” app).

Highlight features:

• View current location on snowmobile trails (Snow Trails) or U.S./Canada road maps (Victory Rides), with detailed weather conditions and forecasts
  
• Search for food, gas, places to stay, and Polaris/Victory dealers
  
• Track ride routes and share via Facebook and Twitter
  

Polaris is excited to continue developing innovative technology to equip and encourage riders as they pursue “The Way Out” on trails and the open road.

To learn more and to download the apps, visit the Android Market and the Apple Store online:

Snow Trails for Android Snow Trails for iPhone

Victory Rides for Android Victory Rides for iPhone

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[Canuck]

The 'feedback' is interesting. Ranges from 'maps are 3 years old' to 'all the info. is out there in Vermont' - groomers with GPS, so sledders can determine when trails were last groomed; GPS locations for parking/staging areas, etc.

https://market.android.com/details?id=net.weathernation.mobile.polaris&feature=search_result

[Fred Quimby]

Interesting for sure.

[skidooer]

Not a knock against Polaris - it's just 'why would a manufacturer get into the mapping business'?

If I were a manufacturer, that is exactly where I would be putting my money.

In-dash computers on recreational vehicles are inevitable. Trail maps are going to show up on those dashes. While the roadways and related stops are well mapped, the off-roads are not. Polaris could be, and presumably is, using this to crowd-source the collection of that data so in a few years their machines are ready with maps from day one.

We all know pulling out the old paper map as you take a break from the bruising of your boggie wheels is more fun, but this is where we're going regardless.

I'm not sure I could find it again, but I read an interesting article a while back that said that all companies will eventually become software companies. This is the beginning of that transition.