As the automotive and navigation industry continues a “try-anything” approach to its systems and services, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between short-term fashion trends and long-term sustainable strategies.

In its latest navigation research, SBD analyses these approaches and indentifies which are most likely to succeed in improving the navigation experience for the driver. This provides the industry with crucial knowledge to prioritise future designs, ensure consumer satisfaction and gain competitive information.

Market trends report - Navigation for the “app” generation (Ref: 2411)

The navigation industry has undergone dramatic changes particularly with the adoption of Smartphone navigation from mainstream consumers, or what SBD deems as the “app” generation. This report analyses the costs and popularity of the Smartphone navigation market and how that will impact on established portable and embedded systems.

• The navigation landscape - An overview of the OE embedded and PND markets before introducing the key changes in the Smartphone navigation industry.
• Dawn of the navigation app era - The story of how software suppliers and PND manufacturers have introduced navigation applications for Smartphones.
• Meeting the demands of the app generation in the car - Understanding how changes in user attitudes will affect future navigation devices in the car.

Technical trends report - An end-to-end analysis of connected navigation services (Ref: 2412)

The automotive industry is actively developing a range of connected services for embedded navigation systems in an effort to remain competitive with PNDs and Smartphone navigation systems. However, vehicle manufacturers face a range of inter-related decisions on the design of their in-car system, the architecture of the off-board servers and their business model. This report examines the potential solutions, identifies the benefits and limitations of each approach and provides SBD’s view of the future.

• Defining connected navigation - Categorising and identifying the various elements of the service chain.
• In-car architectures - Explaining the main Service Access Methods and communication links with benefits and limitations of each.
• Content generation and business models - An overview of the server architecture and potential business models that vehicle manufacturers and service providers can adopt.

Sales Forecasts (Ref: 2413)

The sales forecasts help determine growth over the next five years for the navigation market with additional information on embedded navigation systems such as the variations between low-cost and high-end functionality. These forecasts answer the following key questions:

• What market growth can be expected for each of the navigation device types?
• Has market growth for PND systems peaked and when will it be overtaken by Smartphone navigation?
• When will OE embedded systems experience the same level of sales as it did 2008?

Feature Database (Ref: 2414)

This database is an easy-to-use benchmarking tool covering the features and services being offered by OE, PND and Smartphone navigation systems. In addition to connected services, the database also includes enhanced map features on PNDs and the different business models used for Smartphone navigation. This database contains the follow features:

• Feature fitment and connected service availability for OE navigation systems.
• Enhanced map and connected service features as well as content and software upgrades for portable navigation devices.
• Business models and unique services for Smartphone navigation-enabled devices.
• Photographs and screenshots to give a better understanding of systems and features.
• System functionality for 25 leading connected PNDs and Smartphone providers.

Request more information about this research by contacting Juanita Appleby on jappleby@sbd.co.uk