Mobile phones come with a variety of value-adding features nowadays. From email to high-quality cameras, mobile phones can do just about anything. One of the only features that we have yet to see become as ubiquitous as the camera phone is built-in navigation features, like GPS. Manufacturers are set to start pushing GPS phones in the mainstream. There are already GPS phones on-market, but these are niche devices and have negligible market share. In 2007, we could see mainstream phones, led by Nokia’s N95, start to include built-in GPS chipsets.
Canalys researchers are reporting that the market for navigation products is set to grow 66% from last year. Traditional, stand alone, navigation units are still dominating the market – with 85% market share. However, we could be seeing a change – with Berg Insight projecting that mobile phone-based GPS navigation sales in the US and Europe reaching 12 million units by 2009 (sales were 1 million units in 2005). The market for GPS navigation units is clearly growing, and so is interest from big-hitters like Nokia.
Clearly, there’s interest in adding GPS functionality to handsets – the GPS-SIM is one solution – and we’re excited to see what manufacturers have in store for us in the coming months!
via: yahoonews