Sunday, October 3, 2004
Massive Growth in Mobile GPS Navigation Unit Shipments
Posted by Jonathon Watkins in "NEWS" @ 04:00 PM
"• EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) mobile GPS navigation solution shipments reached 843,000 units in H1 2004
• 720,000 of these were shipped with, or for use on, handhelds
• The majority of solutions shipped were bundled with a mobile device
• Dedicated, transferable GPS navigation devices accounted for just under 80,000 units
• Smart phone solutions will grow, but represent only around 3% of the market today."
The figures above are taken from a Canalys report about mobile GPS Navigation units (as opposed to the non-Mobile GPS units :wink:) The short version is that shipments of GPS units to Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) have been rising fast. The research also shows that around 75% of navigation solutions for handhelds were sold as bundles combining a PDA, software, GPS module and associated car kit etc. TomTom has 26% of the market, Navigon has 20%, ViaMichelin has 12% and the others have 42%. These figures tie in with what PC Pro magazine are saying about PDA shipments and why they are increasing:
"Now those of us in the business know where all this growth is coming from - satellite navigation. Add-on GPS (global positioning systems) from the likes of TomTom, Navman, Navigon and Via Michelin are driving sales of both Pocket PC and Palm OS handheld computers. Retailers are bundling PDAs and GPS modules together, which are being bought by both experienced PDA users and by new users, who don't care much about what operating system they're buying, so long as it gets them from Bexleyheath to Birmingham without getting lost. The price arguments for buying a GPS system in this way are compelling - specifying a GPS system for your new car can set you back well over £1,000, whereas a TomTom Go costs £499 all in."
I have to say that I'm tempted to add a Bluetooth GPS unit to my Pocket PC and I don't think I'm the only one. How important is GPS to you and the folks around you that are interested in Pocket PCs? Are you finding a lot of interest in bundled GPS solutions as the report suggest, or is GPS still a nice-to-have toy?
• 720,000 of these were shipped with, or for use on, handhelds
• The majority of solutions shipped were bundled with a mobile device
• Dedicated, transferable GPS navigation devices accounted for just under 80,000 units
• Smart phone solutions will grow, but represent only around 3% of the market today."
The figures above are taken from a Canalys report about mobile GPS Navigation units (as opposed to the non-Mobile GPS units :wink:) The short version is that shipments of GPS units to Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) have been rising fast. The research also shows that around 75% of navigation solutions for handhelds were sold as bundles combining a PDA, software, GPS module and associated car kit etc. TomTom has 26% of the market, Navigon has 20%, ViaMichelin has 12% and the others have 42%. These figures tie in with what PC Pro magazine are saying about PDA shipments and why they are increasing:
"Now those of us in the business know where all this growth is coming from - satellite navigation. Add-on GPS (global positioning systems) from the likes of TomTom, Navman, Navigon and Via Michelin are driving sales of both Pocket PC and Palm OS handheld computers. Retailers are bundling PDAs and GPS modules together, which are being bought by both experienced PDA users and by new users, who don't care much about what operating system they're buying, so long as it gets them from Bexleyheath to Birmingham without getting lost. The price arguments for buying a GPS system in this way are compelling - specifying a GPS system for your new car can set you back well over £1,000, whereas a TomTom Go costs £499 all in."
I have to say that I'm tempted to add a Bluetooth GPS unit to my Pocket PC and I don't think I'm the only one. How important is GPS to you and the folks around you that are interested in Pocket PCs? Are you finding a lot of interest in bundled GPS solutions as the report suggest, or is GPS still a nice-to-have toy?
