Speech technologies, multimedia and traffic info drive US nav market
Of the navigation users surveyed, text-to-speech and voice recognition are used by about 46% and 19% respectively. The integration of multimedia features is clearly appreciated by some, with more than 20% of the respondents having used audio or video playback on their navigation devices.
"The use of navigation devices for multimedia consumption is important for the future of PNDs," says ABI Research director Dominique Bonte. "With 42% of the respondents using their navigation device less often than once a week in emergency situations or while travelling, non-navigation use cases will contribute to a more intensive use of PNDs, and greater perceived benefits."
While 31% of the respondents have access to traffic information, more than 70% of that group benefit from lifetime or temporarily free traffic info services. However, 67% of the traffic users confirmed they would definitely or probably renew their subscriptions.
The survey also confirms the dominant position of Garmin in the PND segment and Verizon Wireless in the handset-based off-board navigation segment, with 45% and 57% respectively of the respondents using these brands.
The results also confirm continued price erosion, with an average price of $250 for PNDs purchased during the last six months.
