Four out of five cell phones to integrate GPS by end of 2011, says iSuppli
With cell phones increasingly becoming the nexus of the burgeoning markets for navigation and Location Based Services (LBS), the use of GPS technology in such platforms is set to explode during the coming years, according to iSuppli.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, 79.9% of cell phones shipped, amounting to 318.3 million units, will incorporate GPS functionality, up from 56.1% in the first quarter of 2009 or 187.8 million units, iSuppli forecast.
The adoption of GPS in mobile handsets is being driven by smartphones.
"The smartphone is the key product driving the technology industry today, and social networking services and applications spurred by GPS-related features are critical elements in the smart phone market today," said Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli. "This is illustrated by Google's decision to make turn-by-turn navigation, LBS and mobile ads the central features in its bid to take on Apple in the smartphone market, and make up the central pillars of its strategy to increasingly monetize mobile search."
Smartphones are taking over from PNDs as the major platform for navigation. By 2014, usage of navigation-enabled smartphones will exceed that of PNDs.
Furthermore, the smartphone is likely to generate many innovative LBS apps in the next five years. Apple's iPhone already has more than 6,000 LBS apps available, iSuppli said.
Meanwhile, both Apple and Google are focusing on mobile advertising as a key source of revenues used in association with LBS.
Apple's new iAd platform, part of the company's updated iPhone OS 4 operating system, enables the embedding of advertisements into applications, allowing iPhone users to interact with the ad without leaving the app. Similarly, Google in May acquired leading mobile ad provider AdMob.
Nonetheless, Apple recently upped the ante in the smartphone GPS segment with the addition of a gyroscope to its latest iPhone model. Used in combination with GPS, an accelerometer, a compass and the gyroscope can be used for in indoor navigation with floor accuracy.
iSuppli also sees an increased penetration of embedded GPS in a range of consumer and compute electronic devices by 2014. For example, it estimates that 18% of notebooks and 42% of portable handheld video game players will have embedded GPS in 2014.
Altogether, the boom in mobile handset navigation will benefit suppliers of GPS semiconductors such as Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Infineon Technologies and CSR.
GPS is not the only embedded connectivity technology that will be increasingly embedded in consumer and compute electronics devices. With the ratification of the Bluetooth 4.0 standard supporting the Bluetooth Low Energy profile, iSuppli expects increased penetration of Bluetooth in wireless mice, keypads and other interface devices for the mobile and desktop market, an area that has been dominated by proprietary technologies.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, 79.9% of cell phones shipped, amounting to 318.3 million units, will incorporate GPS functionality, up from 56.1% in the first quarter of 2009 or 187.8 million units, iSuppli forecast.
The adoption of GPS in mobile handsets is being driven by smartphones.
"The smartphone is the key product driving the technology industry today, and social networking services and applications spurred by GPS-related features are critical elements in the smart phone market today," said Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli. "This is illustrated by Google's decision to make turn-by-turn navigation, LBS and mobile ads the central features in its bid to take on Apple in the smartphone market, and make up the central pillars of its strategy to increasingly monetize mobile search."
Smartphones are taking over from PNDs as the major platform for navigation. By 2014, usage of navigation-enabled smartphones will exceed that of PNDs.
Furthermore, the smartphone is likely to generate many innovative LBS apps in the next five years. Apple's iPhone already has more than 6,000 LBS apps available, iSuppli said.
Meanwhile, both Apple and Google are focusing on mobile advertising as a key source of revenues used in association with LBS.
Apple's new iAd platform, part of the company's updated iPhone OS 4 operating system, enables the embedding of advertisements into applications, allowing iPhone users to interact with the ad without leaving the app. Similarly, Google in May acquired leading mobile ad provider AdMob.
Nonetheless, Apple recently upped the ante in the smartphone GPS segment with the addition of a gyroscope to its latest iPhone model. Used in combination with GPS, an accelerometer, a compass and the gyroscope can be used for in indoor navigation with floor accuracy.
iSuppli also sees an increased penetration of embedded GPS in a range of consumer and compute electronic devices by 2014. For example, it estimates that 18% of notebooks and 42% of portable handheld video game players will have embedded GPS in 2014.
Altogether, the boom in mobile handset navigation will benefit suppliers of GPS semiconductors such as Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Infineon Technologies and CSR.
GPS is not the only embedded connectivity technology that will be increasingly embedded in consumer and compute electronics devices. With the ratification of the Bluetooth 4.0 standard supporting the Bluetooth Low Energy profile, iSuppli expects increased penetration of Bluetooth in wireless mice, keypads and other interface devices for the mobile and desktop market, an area that has been dominated by proprietary technologies.
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