New research from Berg Insight says the number of mobile subscribers using turn-by-turn navigation on their handsets grew by 57% percent year-on-year in the first half of 2010.
44 million people around the world now use navigation services or apps on their phone. The subscriber base is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 33.1% until 2015, when it'll total 195 million users worldwide. This widespread adoption is resulting from the broad availability of GPS-equipped handsets – penetration is over 70% in the USA – and by free or inclusive navigation applications and services. Around 8% of all mobile customers in the US now have turn-by-turn navigation on their mobile phone.
André Malm, Senior Analyst at Berg Insight, said "Mobile operators and service providers are now accelerating their efforts to create differentiated navigation experiences with unique local content to compete against free services".