GPS market up 25% in 2009?

Representing one of the few areas of growth in the coming year, the report forecasts an increase by over $200million between 2008 and 2009. Tom Arran, research analyst at IMS, said: “2008 was the breakout year for GPS in mobile phones. In 2009 GPS will begin to penetrate into a range of vertical markets, such as cameras, laptops, UMPCs, sporting equipment and first responder radios. This will help drive shipment growth of over 25% year on year.” IMS considers that 2009 will be a ‘booming’ year for GOS in portable devices and forecasts the overall market to demonstrate a 21.2% CAGR between 2008 and 2013. Arran continued: “The GPS market remains competitive, despite a number of acquisitions by large semis companies. Standalone GPS manufacturers will need to specialise to monetise, as each vertical market requires different hardware considerations.”