Despite the hype around the decline of PNDs and the rise of smartphone applications, there is a long-term future for dedicated GPS devices. Total GPS device revenues are forecast to grow from $6.5 billion in 2011 to over $8 billion in 2017. With the exception of PNDs, all device categories grew in 2011, including cycling computers, golf caddies, and recreational devices.

Senior analyst Patrick Connolly said, “With over 40 GPS watches available in 2012, this is the standout device category. Motorola, Epson, New Balance, Magellan, and Polar all entered the market, with a number of others lining up devices for 2013. We will also see increasing partnerships between device manufacturers and smartphone application developers, which is vital in extending reach and opening up new sales channels.”

“Looking to the future, the GPS-enabled eyewear market is expected to expand beyond skiing into winter sports and fitness, as well opening up new markets such as motorcycling, making it one of the strongest device revenue categories by 2017.”

Practice director Dominique Bonte added, “Looking at the competitive environment, Garmin is already showing that it can continue to grow despite significant declines in its PND business, but they are also face increasing competition from the likes of TomTom/Nike, Mitac, Pioneer, Suunto, Recon Instruments, and a host of sporting apparel and watch manufacturers.”

These findings are part of ABI Research’s GPS & GNSS research service which includes additional GPS device and IC competitive analyses, vendor matrices, market data, and insights.