A new report from Berg Insight says global shipments of GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA mobile phones increased 92% last year to 150 million units. Shipments are forecast to reach 770 million units in 2014; a compound annual growth rate of 38.7%. When other technologies, such as CDMA and TD-SCDMA are included, GPS-enabled handset sales are estimated to reach about 960 million, or 60% of total mobile phone shipments, in 2014.
The company also says GPS technology will become more common in mid-range 'feature phone' models during 2010, with improvements in location performance expected from next year.
André Malm, a senior analyst at Berg Insight, said "Chipset developers and handset vendors are already working on next-generation location technologies that will address the limitations of GPS when using handsets in urban canyons and indoors. Multi-mode receivers that also support the Russian GLONASS satellite system will appear in handsets in 2011. By combining the two systems, more visible satellites will increase the chance to receive sufficiently strong signals to get a fix in more locations."