Thursday, 26 June 2008

Personal Navigation Device Sales Beat Expectations

Worldwide shipment growth of personal navigation devices (PNDs) was higher than anticipated last year, with shipments reaching 30.7 million in 2007, up from 13.3 million in 2006, reports In-Stat.

The main drivers for this growth were price declines, efficient volume availability through the retail channels during the crucial holiday season, enhanced functionality, and stronger consumer demand for navigation, the high-tech market research firm says.

"However, the PND market faces strong competition from both mobile phone handset navigation and embedded automotive navigation systems," says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst.

"In particular, vendors in handset navigation are starting to offer a number of value-added services, such as pedestrian navigation, offline navigation, and searches for local points of interest."

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

•Worldwide unit shipments of PNDs are expected to grow from 30.7 million units in 2007 to 68 million units in 2012.

• PND manufacturers are integrating advanced functionality in PNDs in order to improve the price/performance value.