ABI: Wireless Connectivity the Future for Portable Navigation Devices
December 20, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Today's generation of navigation devices is the first to be connected to real-time information, but the services they offer provide little more than road incidents to be avoided.
According to ABI Research, that won't suffice for long, and soon motorists can expect to see a wide variety of useful data flowing into their cars in what is being termed "connected navigation."
Analysts this will open a multitude of opportunities for service providers and data aggregators to exploit travelers' desires for contextual information about local services and points of interest.
"To differentiate themselves, navigation vendors will have to find other and better data to incorporate into their navigation schemes. That will involve a connection to the Internet," said ABI Research principal analyst Dan Benjamin.
Companies such as TomTom and Dash Navigation are already blazing the trail here, analysts said, with TomTom using Bluetooth to establish the pipeline to the extra data, while Dash is using a cellular modem and Wi-Fi.
Next-generation devices will offer traffic flow data, weather information or instant messaging. Within two years, analysts said we may see navigation systems providing contextual answers to highly specific queries about local products and services.
"Navigation vendors should be partnering with various data suppliers in order to differentiate their offerings and incorporate the new data into their routing algorithms and applications," said Benjamin. "There are also many opportunities for data aggregators in niche areas."
But analysts said it's not quite that simple. Not only are business models still poorly defined in this sector, but to realize this potential, providers must work to standardize the data so it is "digestible" by a wide variety of navigation devices.
Handset-based devices, which have been inferior with regard to the navigation experience due to their small form-factor, will have an advantage in the era of "connected navigation," analysts said, because they already have cellular connections. Getting them to work outside the vehicle will open up a whole new market - the urban pedestrian.
Source: ABI Research.