Portable Nav To Slow After 2006, Study Finds

By Amy Gilroy On Jul 25 2005 - 6:00am

According to a new study by Strategy Analytics, here, portable navigation sales will increase through 2006 but then start to fall off because of competition from GPS-equipped cellphones offering wireless navigation.

Strategy Analytics estimates sales of portable navigation dedicated devices and PDA shipments for 2004 reached 1 million units worldwide, including 300,000 to 350,000 units in North America, and 400,000 to 450,000 units in Europe. For 2005, the company expects these figures to double or triple, it said.

By the end of 2004, sales of portable navigation and PDA solutions grew to shipments of approximately 100,000 per month, it said.

“After 2005, there will be a stronger competitive response from automotive and wireless players looking to better integrate navigation and location-based services into their feature sets,” said a press statement from the company.

In-vehicle navigation is showing relatively little growth, expected to reach 1.3 million units in North America, 2.2 million units in Europe and 4.0 million units in Japan for the OEM and the aftermarkets combined in 2005.

The report concludes that strong navigation growth “can only be maintained over the longer term if navigation capabilities are linked more closely to road traffic information, speed camera locations, entertainment, communications and other 'customizable' consumer features,” according to Joanne Blight, automotive practice director.