A new ABI Research report says that while cell phone GPS systems are taking off, with 96 million in expected annual sales by 2012, they won't straight-out replace standalone personal and in-car navigation devices. In fact, it's probable that more consumers will own more than one GPS system as time goes on.

The report said that cell phone-based navigation will "not challenge the PND navigation form factor in the near future... despite the relative success of off-board navigation in the United States - with more than 4 million paying subscribers - PNDs remain the most user-friendly in-car navigation device." I can attest to that; I've reviewed several smartphones for PC Magazine recently that came with built-in GPS. They're surprisingly useful, being roughly equivalent to standalone devices if somewhat slower to respond and lacking some detail in the voice prompts. But lacking touch screens (such as with the otherwise-excellent BlackBerry Curve 8310), they're difficult to control even when you're stopped by the side of the road. And even the portable standalone units don't match built-in factory systems in that regard, though the latter are prohibitively expensive and sometimes lack the latest technology, such as real-time traffic.

"While traditional, factory-installed in-car navigation systems remain expensive and are offered only as an option on mid- and high-end cars, their perfect integration into the car environment guarantees ease-of-use and safety," said Dominique Bonte, an ABI Research principal analyst.

Post by Jamie Lendino