That was 2007. I had maps of the entire US loaded on my pocket pc circa 2005.
Edit: that was “Mapopolis” in my case. There were plenty more: https://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/GPS_software_-_Pocket_PC
it was always strange that google maps was accepted as some kind of magic while turn by turn navigation with voice directions was available from mid 2000s
nowdays i always have sygic installed on my phone. came handy when google maps decided to freak out while i was driving through death valley to gas station.
Did those turn by turn systems allow you to just drag the map onscreen anywhere to change location to anyplace on earth? To drop pins and send links to anyone in an email? To be updated instantly and for free when the data was refreshed?
as long as you had maps installed for this area - yes
>To drop pins and send links to anyone in an email?
yea. multi-point navigation with ability to search along the route/in the area/specific city/etc. all without breaking route. you could also save route iirc. i had 2 weeks road trip pre-planned.
there was some ability to share route/coordinates. don't remember details
> To be updated instantly and for free when the data was refreshed?
back than maps weren't updated that frequently. in general.
on the other side, it gave you ability to go anywhere without having a data connection. google offline maps are still very limited. igo was showing on screen next two maneuvers back than. google still didn't figure it out. or ability to show real 3D landscape and 3D landmarks/buildings. or ability to mark street as blocked so navigation will route around. getting traffic information from radio in case there is no internet.
How much did that cost? How many folks had it? When did it stop getting updates?
Most folks (likely including GP) didn't have easy access to offline electronic maps in their pocket in 2007 and didn't know anyone who had offline electronic maps in their pocket.
Does that make them stupid?
$100 for the maps, available to anyone with a pocket pc and access to Google.
Handheld gps's with offline maps go back even further. I was using them from '03 to '08. Garmin made a bunch of ones that were no bigger than a early-gen blackberry. Back then it was relatively easy to get pirated updated maps for them.