ABI Research says that a recent survey revealed that, although portable navigation devices (PNDs) remain the most used form factor, the number of mobile phones with navigation software in the car is growing substantially in the United States, up to 24 percent this year from 19 percent in 2009.
ABI Research says that a recent survey revealed that, although portable navigation devices (PNDs) remain the most used form factor, the number of mobile phones with navigation software in the car is growing substantially in the United States, up to 24 percent this year from 19 percent in 2009.
A similar trend was detected in western Europe, according to the Oyster Bay, New York–based research firm’s “2010 Navigation Survey Highlights Comparison: 2009 and 2010 Results from US, UK, Germany, and France” study. Meanwhile, the market share of built-in car navigation systems is flattening in the United States and declining in western Europe.
The accompanying figure provides an overview of navigation preferences and user behavior in the United States, Germany, France, and the UK. The survey was conducted from May 4 to May 7, 2010, and completed by 1,535 consumers.
ABI Research said the increase in the market share of handset-based navigation is driven by the availability of free solutions from Google and Nokia as well as rapidly decreasing pricing levels from other mobile navigation vendors. However, the company’s researchers say that it will clearly take more time than initially anticipated for handset-based navigation to make inroads into the PND’s dominant position.
