Mobile phones will become the main navigation devices — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{TRG predicts 500 million navigation units in 2015} Mobile phones will become the main navigation devices

TRG predicts that devices like Nokia N95 will be the main line of the future navigation devices.

6 Jan 2008 at 10:24 GMT Timo Poropudas

Standalone navigation devices, made by such companies as Tom Tom and Garmin, will give way to mobile phones as the worldwide portable navigation market explodes over the next several years, according to a report from Telematics Research Group.

The market research firm said 30 million dedicated navigation devices were sold last year, outpacing navigation-enabled mobile phone sales by 50 percent. But wireless handsets and other Internet-enabled gadgets will fuel massive growth in the space, with the market growing from 50 million units in 2007 to more than 500 million units in 2015, TRG predicted.

“In the years to come, navigation-enabled mobile phones will be used for auto navigation, pedestrian navigation and many other types of location-based services,” said TRG analyst Egil Juliussen. “This opens up a new world of services and capabilities.”

While both dedicated devices and navigation-enabled phones are expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, phones will begin outselling standalone devices in 2009, TRG predicted.

“A large volume market for inexpensive, dedicated navigation devices will live on past 2008,” said TRG analyst Egil Juliussen.

“Dedicated personal navigation devices are mobile devices optimized for navigation while mobile phones with navigation are optimized for communications, which gives them an advantage in the emerging new world order for navigation.”