The end is near for PNDs?

82% of smartphone nav app users would not buy a PND
Feb 10, 2011

The challenge to the PND from mobile apps has been predicted since the arrival of the first GPS-enabled smartphones, with analysts such as ABI Research recently forecasting that software will take half of the total navigation market by 2016.

Now according to research from mobile navigation developer ALK Technologies, this challenge is very real.

In a survey of more than 5,000 users of ALK's CoPilot Live navigation apps, 82% of respondents said they would be unlikely to purchase a dedicated sat nav device in the future.
Today's touch screen handsets such as the iPhone and Google's Android-powered devices are capable of providing the same detailed mapping and voice-guided directions as dedicated systems for a fraction of the price. They are also more convenient for pedestrian navigation, as well as inherently connected for seamless access to useful navigation-based services such as local search, traffic information and even the price of petrol at nearby filling stations.
The survey also revealed that 65% of respondents use CoPilot Live at least once a week, dispelling the myth that smartphone navigation is only for occasional use or as a backup for a dedicated system.
CoPilot Live also allows users to have detailed street maps stored directly on their phone, rather than having to download them for each journey - a PND-like feature preferred by 85%.
"This survey is concrete evidence that smartphone navigation is a direct threat to dedicated devices," commented David Quin, marketing director, CoPilot Live navigation at ALK Technologies.
Quin pointed out that full-featured apps like CoPilot Live now provide the same advanced guidance features and detailed maps as high-end sat navs on a wide range of handsets, and that, for the majority, there's no going back.
"As smartphones reach mass market penetration, it is inevitable e that the dedicated device will become the niche product," he concluded.