It’s as inevitable as night following day that standalone navigational devices will disappear from the market. With every almost every smartphone released now featuring GPS (global positioning system) technology inside, the need for single-function devices will dimish.
The cost of GPS technology has crashed dived over the last year or so – and that’s been evident in prices for single-function devices. Throw in the ever-growing competition for a smaller market and it’s going to be hard for the GPS market to sustain as many brands as there currently are.
So it’s not surprising that some industry analysts are saying the market could disappear altogether. With smartphones on one end and in-car GPS technology growing in popularity at the other, the squeeze will be on.
Interestingly though, a Swedish research firm, Berg Insights, says that 2011 will see single-function GPS devices hit a sales peak of 42million, up from this years’ 40million.
However, by 2015, that number will have dropped to 30million and is expected to continue sliding south. These are not numbers that will be happy reading to GPS makers and as smartphones themselves continue to fall in price and effectively include GPS technology for free, the need for a standalone GPS device will be almost gone for good.