UK government says goodbye sat navs, hello Xbox, e-cigs and Spotify Sat navs are officially dead. The UK's Office for National Statistics has dropped them from its basket of goods used to calculate inflation - a sad end to a once-leading tech product. "'Sat navs' are being removed from the basket of goods this year, partly because many drivers now navigate using smart phones, but also because …
.rather than real costs of living like housing costs is designed to artificially lower them
It would have the reverse effect, surely? Unnecessary luxuries tend to hold their price, or even increase it (Veblen goods) but the necessities drop in price as people shop in discount stores, etc. Measuring inflation against luxuries should show a higher rate than if it were measured against necessities.
Housing is always an outlier, of course.
partly because many drivers now navigate using smart phones
I hear that some people like to burn their own nipples with lit cigarettes as well, presumably there's a correlation somewhere in there.
I reckon the "car comes with it built in" reason is the real one, as even the crappiest built in beats peering at a phone screen on a wobbly generic mount, only to find that your 3G connection has died for the 50th time in the last ten minutes and the turning three back was the one you wanted.
I disagree with "car comes with it built in" being the main reason. A quick glance round the work car park and only 2 of the cars belonging to management have built in Sat Nav. None of the cars belonging to us plebs have it built in.
It may be a better experience than a smart phone but its not the reason I would choose one brand of car over another and it seems most of my colleagues agree with me.
Though at least on various handheld devices you can update the maps etc without too much trouble (and hopefuly cost). I hear some in-built satnavs require something from the dealer to update them (assuming the car manufacturer can be bothered to provide an update), which usually is not a trivial amount of money.
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