Personal navigation devices have been a huge success, largely thanks to their user friendly applications. In fact, demand has risen so dramatically that cellular carriers have begun introducing on-board and off-board navigation solutions. In addition, they have various location-based services (LBS), including friend finder and local search, available on GPS-enabled handsets.
In addition, community and social networking related functionality, such as the sharing of POI (Points of Interest) and geo-tagged pictures, are becoming popular among users.
These functions are also anticipated to boost GPS-enabled handset uptake, as carriers, handset manufacturers, and service providers look to capitalize on this the LBS trend.
Recent research by ABI research focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets, and predicts the use of GPS-enabled handsets will increase significantly. ABI Research’s report, GPS-Enabled Mobile Devices, examines the market landscape and future potential for GPS-enabled mobile phones. It points out critical business and marketing issues, as well as market opportunities and challenges for handset vendors, mobile operators, semiconductor vendors, and other industry players who address the GPS-enabled handset market.
“While most CDMA handsets are already GPS-enabled and GPS is set to become a standard feature in GSM
smartphones, GSM feature phones are next on the agenda to be equipped with GPS technology,” says ABI Research principal analyst Dominique Bonte. “GPS chipset vendors increasingly target handsets, looking for new markets and spurred on by the recent dramatic growth of personal navigation devices.”
However, ABI is quick to point out that for successful penetration of GPS technology into the low-end phone market, cost, power consumption, and chipset size will all have to be further reduced. This will be made possible by single chipset technology and the emergence, in 2009, of combination chips integrating GPS, Bluetooth, and WiFi
.
Major silicon vendors such as Broadcom, NXP, and Atheros, are well positioned to develop such solutions following the acquisition of GPS chipset vendors Global Locate, GloNav, and u-Nav, respectively.
The research also notes some tricky issues, like indoor GPS coverage, have to be addressed, given that handset-based LBS services are frequently used in challenging environments with reduced GPS signal strength.
Network-assisted A-GPS and high-sensitivity GPS-receivers are becoming key requirements to reduce the time necessary to acquire fixes and to improve location accuracy, and will also likely see increased interest as GPS applications become more prevalent.
Arun Satapathy is a contributing writer for IoTevolutionworld. To read more of his articles, please visit his contributor’s page
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