In a move that was widely anticipated, today Google adds free navigation for mobile phones that includes turn-by-turn directions. The free service is anticipated to erode some sales from device makers such as Garmin and TomTom.

The new service is touted as better than other systems because it’s always connected to the Internet, has live traffic feeds, has voice recognition, and is full of points of interest data. The service is part of the latest version of Google Maps for Mobile, and will be released on the new version of Google’s Android operating system. The hope is to eventually port this same functionality to the iPhone and other devices.

Analysts are jumping on the fact that this is yet another disruption by Google that is creating more “enemies”. Google’s Eric E. Schmidt defends against that view by stating, ““As long as you are on the side of consumers, you’ll be fine.”

Read a good summary that includes analyst insight in this New York Times feature.

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