Magellan Sold to MiTAC - GPS Lowdown
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There is no denying the consumer-based demand for location-based services such as GPS units.According to Alan A. Varghese, senior director of semiconductor research at ABI Research in Oyster Bay, N.Y., shipments of GPS devices are expected to grow by 31 percent each year until 2010.
During the last quarter of 2007, GPS units saw a 400 percent growth, which is a far cry from the gadget’s humble beginnings. In 2002, a mere 3.2 million devices were shipped worldwide and just two years later, that amount had more than doubled, with a whopping 6.55 million being shipped to locations around the world.
Currently, GPS devices are more popular than ever before, and they’re not just for cars anymore. There are handheld devices for campers and hikers, devices that can be mounted onto motorcycles, and a new genre geared towards parents that have less to do with getting directions to a local restaurant and more to do with keeping track of where their newly licensed teenagers are.
With an average cost range between $130 and $1,300, it’s clear that the business of developing GPS devices is a lucrative one. The economy may be in a slump, but there seems to be no stopping the GPS market. Even during what has been described as a recession, pricey GPS devices were some of the most popular gifts given to gadget geeks this past Christmas, and it looks like there’s no end in sight to their demand.
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