GPS Navigation Market Position Service Becomes New Growth Point

However, as more and more 3G and smart phones have GPS functions, which pose a serious threat to professional GPS devices, the traditional GPS navigation industry needs to find new growth points to provide differentiated services for users.

China's GPS global positioning system product technology and market have further matured. For example, in 2010, the GPS rear-mounted navigation market in China was still growing faster than before, and the "navigation fever" of cars continued to heat up. The market monitoring data recently released by CCID Consulting showed that in the first three quarters of 2010, China's modified GPS market achieved total sales of 2,180,800 units, an increase of 107.7% over the same period of 2009, and at the same time, China’s total PND market achieved in the first three quarters of 2010. The sales volume was 2.1076 million units, an increase of 37.1% over the same period of 2009.

However, as more and more 3G and smart phones have GPS functions, which pose a serious threat to professional GPS devices, the traditional GPS navigation industry needs to find new growth points to provide differentiated services for users.

Versatile and widely used GPS

Today, both the GPS navigator itself and the application of the GPS function are increasingly widespread and diversified.

The most widely used and well-known application of GPS is car navigation. After five years of rapid development, satellite navigation has become the standard configuration of the car. Whether it is built-in or portable, almost every car in China is equipped with a navigation device. Today, car navigators are more than just simple navigation.

For example, there has been a "GPS guide device" that has been called a disruptive product by industry experts. This tour guide is preset with detailed information on the size of the country's large and small scenic spots, each viewpoint, tourism maps of major tourist cities, and tourism guides, highlighting the tourism and leisure functions. This will undoubtedly better meet the demand for driving by car as the number of private cars increases. In addition, some GPS navigators have built-in telephone functions. They can use SIM cards to implement mobile phone calls and SMS functions, and real-time traffic through GPRS. The speed of reception is even faster. In addition, 3G high-speed Internet access is also supported.

Applied to public transportation, GPS will make the social transportation system more intelligent. On November 21st, it was learned from Lanzhou City Department of Transportation that Lanzhou City will install GPS terminal equipment for all taxis in the city free of charge. In the future, if something is lost on a taxi, the possibility of finding it will be high. According to another report, Fujian plans to install an on-board GPS monitoring system for 100% of buses in the central city of the province by 2011, which will basically realize the province's networking and intelligent control.

Applying GPS functionality to mobile phones will provide convenience for some groups. Recently, the use of GPS satellite positioning and GSM mobile communication technology, specifically for the elderly developed "fool cell phone" was born. According to reports, in addition to the SOS emergency call service and life service call function, the “fool mobile phone” service device also has a complete mobile phone function. Its large buttons, large fonts, loud sounds, and one-touch dialing of family ties, radio functions, and flashlights are all tailor-made for the elderly. Shanghai is also exploring the use of high-tech means such as GPS positioning devices and emergency assistance systems to provide more intelligent care services for elderly people who are demented and those who live alone.

In addition, the application prospects of GPS in the areas of emergency medical rescue, satellite positioning system application services, mobile video and surveillance are also very promising.

Save worry, GPS industry is the end of the road?

Despite the broad prospects, current realities cannot be avoided. First of all, product homogeneity is more serious, and there is a problem of inconsistent charging standards. In the process of urban development and construction, the change of map data information is inevitable, which requires the timely updating of data. At present, the upgrade of the navigator is divided into two sizes. The major version upgrade is a large number of POI data updates, which are generally twice per year, which is a fee-based service; minor version updates include early-warning data, some updates of small-scale POI changes, and these updates are free. From this it can be seen that the so-called lifetime free promises declared by many manufacturers are obviously only a guise. In the big version upgrade, the charging standards of various manufacturers are not uniform. In addition, in addition to data updates, there are also navigator software upgrades. The fees for these upgraded services are also very different and chaos is present.

Followed by privacy issues. At present, many GPS-enabled products support the “geographic markup” function. These GPS information will leave traces on the Internet, but it is difficult for users to perceive it. Once personal information is used by people with ulterior motives, it may bring you personal information. Trouble or loss. Recently, Adam Savage, a well-known foreign science show host, published a photo of his own car on Twitter, but he did not know that his fans knew the current place because of the geotagging function.

What is more, foreign studies have said that over-reliance on GPS may also lead to dementia. According to reports, researchers at the McGill University recently conducted research on GPS systems that believe that the frenzy of GPS users has a higher brain risk. This kind of risk is mainly reflected in cognitive dysfunction. GPS usually uses the way to locate and calculate routes. It can help people find the nearest route and point the user to the desired destination. At the same time, it constantly reminds people. Keep watching GPS while driving or walking. Researchers have found that excessive use of GPS devices can cause the brain's hippocampus to shrink, which in turn affects cognition. This symptom is very similar to Alzheimer's disease.

The biggest hidden concern and challenge of GPS is still the threat of mobile phones. With 3G development entering the fast lane, GPS technology has been partially integrated into smart phones and other products, for example, Google and Nokia have decided to provide users with free GPS technology, Gartner said, 45 million users have purchased Android phones with GPS capabilities; Nokia also started providing navigation software Ovi Maps for smartphone users free of charge since January. This undoubtedly changed the landscape of the GPS industry. Swedish market research company Berg Insight recently predicted that global sales of GPS equipment will increase from 40 million units this year to 42 million units in 2011, and then begin to decline gradually, and it will decline to 30 million units in 2015, mainly due to the erode of smart phones. Has the GPS industry been dead?

GPS value-added, location service highlights

Although GPS navigation devices are facing the challenge of smart phones, as a professional navigation device, navigation instruments can fully explore new applications on value-added services and explore greater space for development.

For example, it provides professional navigation and comprehensive information services in large-scale scenic spots and events. In the Beijing Olympics, the real-time traffic information function of TMC real-time traffic shined brilliantly, and many domestic navigation maps have set the query of Olympic venues as an important part of the destination query. At the Shanghai World Expo, in addition to providing location inquiries, GPS is also a perfect display of scenic information fusion. Location service information, ticketing information, and related venue introductions of the Expo Park have been timely displayed in GPS products. You can see more recent World Expo related information.

Now, driven by the upsurge of the Foursquare website in the United States, the “Cheet” (from Check in) family based on Shared Location Service (LBS) is quietly emerging in China, including the playing network of the downstream of Shengda Banner. Many domestic Internet companies are rushing to test the water business model. From a definition point of view, Location Based Service (LBS) is a location-centric service approach. By determining the user's exact location, it provides users with accurate geographic services based on their location, such as catering, shopping, and entertainment.

This location-based service is more targeted. For users, they can enjoy personalized and differentiated services. For merchants, they can target the target user group more precisely and make advertising more effective. In the future, location services will be inseparable from all aspects of life. Deepening the application of location services will become a new bright spot similar to on-board GPS value-added services. It will lead the new direction of GPS value-added services.