PND Market To See Early Christmas
From the NAVTEQ Connections conference in San Francisco…NAVTEQ executive VP Jeff Mize revealed some stats about the coming consumer portable navigation device market at Christmas time:
PND Market Growth: The PND is showing strong growth: 20 million units will be sold this year; an 80% growth over last year. 60% of these 20 million units will be priced at less than $200; 90% will be sold from only four manufacturers (Garmin, TomTom have most market share). There is now a very diverse distribution model with PNDs sold in over 35000 retail outlets.
PND market dynamics: Expect aggressive pricing on Black Friday. There will be more emphasis on accessories and add-ons such as map updates, both downloadable and in store, plus text to speech will be a big deal. Watch for the introduction of private label retailer brands as well as a buzz around connected devices.
