New figures from ABI Research predict the number of GPS users will increase to 370 million by 2015.
That represents a significant increase from the 57 million GPS users recorded this year. Additionally, the new research suggests the most important feature of a mobile navigation service remains the inclusion of traffic info.
“Navigation users continue to appreciate the value of traffic information allowing calculation of the fastest routes and accurate Estimated Times of Arrival (ETA) predictions,” Dominique Bonte, Telematics and Navigation practice director at ABI Research, said in a statement.
“The emergence of historic speed profiles and predictive traffic information has extended the use case to trip planning,”
ABI says GPS is becoming more widely used as handset manufacturers include the feature, but users become easily frustrated when traffic data isn’t available.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
