Connected PNDs To Catch On: Report
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 11/20/2009
Gothenburg, Sweden - Eighty-eight percent of portable navigation devices (PNDs) shipped worldwide in 2015 will include cellular connectivity, despite the low demand for the feature initially, said Berg Insight.
"The connected PND segment has had a slow start, but now seems to be on-track as business models have been refined," said senior analyst André Malm. The Berg report added that although connected PNDs won't win a large share in 2010, growth will pick up rapidly once customers get used to new live services, such as traffic flow information, speed-camera databases and up-to-date maps. "In only a few years time, wireless connectivity will be taken for granted," said Malm.
Berg Insight also found that global shipments of PNDs will peak at approximately 50 million units per year in 2012 and slightly decline thereafter.
Growing shipments in emerging markets are not likely to fully compensate for the decline in Europe and North America, where higher use of smartphone GPS is wining over casual GPS users, it said.
The Berg Insight report concluded, however, that many GPS device types will co-exist in the future. "Most PNDs and in-car navigation systems still provide a better user experience than many handset-based navigation services. Moreover, handset navigation services are also well suited as a complement to other solutions, especially for use outside the car," said the report.
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