Connected PNDs Delayed by Technical Issues and Economic Climate, According to ABI Research

Business Wire, August 21, 2008

LONDON -- The wave of announcements of connected PNDs earlier this year has not yet resulted in many launches or significant sales volumes. The success of the Dash Express has been limited by a lack of branding and distribution strength, and connected PNDs from Mio and Magellan have still not been launched in the US.

"Technical difficulties, carrier agreements and the general economic climate have been the main reasons for the delays," says ABI Research director Dominique Bonte. "For many PND vendors, cellular connectivity is a completely new project representing a huge challenge in terms of implementation, the development of new services, and the negotiation of agreements with carriers. Moreover, the worsening economic climate, the slowdown of the PND market growth, and the profitability issues faced by most vendors have resulted in connected PNDs ranking lower on all parties' priority lists."

However, Mio has now also announced its first connected PND for the Asia-Pacific market, aimed at professional users and supporting phone calls and local search. The Moov 380 will be launched in Taiwan at the end of 2008 and will offer 2.75G and 3G connectivity based on Qualcomm chipsets.

Bonte concludes: "While there is no doubt connected PNDs will become widespread, vendors will face an ongoing challenge in developing a wide range of compelling real-time services and educating users about the benefits of connected navigation."

An ABI Research study, "Connected Navigation Devices," (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/market_research/ Connected_Navigation_Devices Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) examines the features, trends, drivers and barriers affecting connected Personal Navigation Devices. It describes all major solutions, applications and business models, and includes recommendations to the major navigation players. The report contains forecasts by region for shipments, hardware and service revenues of connected PNDs and services. It forms part of the firm's Location Aware Services Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Location_Aware_Services), which also includes other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, an Online Database, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support..

ABI Research is a leading market research firm focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. Utilizing a unique blend of market intelligence, primary research, and expert assessment from its worldwide team of industry analysts, ABI Research assists hundreds of clients each year with their strategic growth initiatives. For information, visit www.abiresearch.com, or call 1.516.624.2500.