|
||
|
Competition Threatening Established Portable Navigation Device Vendors, Says ABI Research |
||
|
OYSTER BAY, N.Y., July 14, 2006/Satnews Daily/ ― With text-to-speech, real-time traffic information, and other features now being incorporated into the most inexpensive portable navigation devices, connectivity is becoming the last bastion of feature differentiation. The enormous market expansion and related price war in the consumer navigation market is no longer new. What has changed is that the resulting attempts at product segmentation and the additional revenue streams for the most competitive portable navigation segment are increasingly arriving in the form of network-connected services.
“By next year, simple one-way traffic information over satellite radio will be found even on the lowest-priced portable navigation devices sold for under $300,” says ABI Research principal analyst Dan Benjamin. He said the big players in the portable navigation market are going to see increased competition, not just from me-too products offered by the classic consumer electronics vendors, but also from thin-client specialized vendors such as TeleNav and Wayfinder.
“The thin-client players will be able to advertise perpetually updated maps and POI, and lower up-front costs due to reduced storage and processing needs. We expect on-board portable navigation vendors to follow TomTom and offer more connectivity, but with a focus on premium traffic information and location database updates.”
Benjamin also believes that some of the newest market entrants, big names like Philips and Sony, could be in for a rude market awakening. “Established navigation names like Magellan have been forced to clear out their products through discounters, and Navman is publicly up for sale. If they come in expecting to compete on brand instead of price or features, I wouldn't be terribly optimistic. This market is comparable to the audio player market before the iPod. Many had products, but it was the service component in iTunes that separated Apple's offering from the pack.”
ABI Research's latest study "Consumer Navigation Systems and Devices: The Changing Dynamics of Portable, Converged, OEM, and Aftermarket Navigation" analyzes the entire range of handset navigation products from handset-based to automotive factory-fit. It provides regional forecasts for navigation shipments and market value through 2011.
The study is available as part of the more detailed and comprehensive Automotive Infotainment Research Service, which includes research reports, regular market updates, forecast and industry databases, ABI Research Vendor Matrices, ABI Insights and analyst inquiry time.
Recent Stories: Research Predicts More Than Half a Billion Mobile TV Users by 2011 New Research Predicts 100 HD Channels, 11-M Viewers in Europe by 2010 IMS Research: DTH Set-top Box Shipment to Rise 15% in 5 Years, to Reach 74.8-M Units by 2010 |
||
