If you need a GPS device to get around, it's becoming more likely you'll get yourself a mobile phone with built-in satellite mapping than buy a standalone personal navigation device.
According to market research firm iSuppli, by 2011, virtually all smartphones will sport built-in GPS functionality, and by 2014 there might be no more market left for PNDs.
While this is a grand statement, it's quite credible. Just a year or two ago, it was hard to find a phone with built-in GPS functionality that actually worked reliably. Today there are various applications available that can turn your smartphone into a dependable navigator.
Nonetheless, for now, the market for PNDs is still going strong. According to iSuppli, PNDs will continue to lead the navigation market in 2009, with some 114 million sets predicted to be in use by the end of the year, compared with 57.8 million navigation-enabled smart phones.
New smartphone models are becoming increasingly suitable for use as navigators due to their larger displays, bigger internal storage, faster processors, and most importantly, the increased number of developers creating apps for them. As a matter of fact, all current navigation solutions on smartphones are applications developed by third parties.
iSuppli predicted that thanks to such factors, the number of people who use the iPhone alone as a navigator - Apple now has eight navigation applications available for it - will increase from just 2 million in 2009 to 20 million by 2013.
Source: Compare Cellular
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