[Satellite News 01-27-09] The results of a pair ABI Research studies along with several deals backed by major companies may point to a healthy future for GPS-enabled handsets and applications.
    Alternative global positioning technologies combined with cell phone ID and Wi-Fi will provide 25 percent of all positioning solutions by 2014, according to ABI research analyst Dominique Bonte. Today’s positioning service users expect seamless and transparent location experience regardless of application or environment. “Since no single positioning technology can provide this, the future will be about hybrid positioning systems, combining A-GPS, Cell-ID, Wi-Fi, cellular, motion sensors and even TV broadcast and proximity technologies such as Bluetooth, NFC and RFID,” Bonte said in “Alternative Positioning Technologies,” released Jan. 23. “Stand-alone Cell-ID and/or Wi-Fi will remain important in regions with low GPS handset penetration.”
    Bonte’s prediction is supported by a list of big-name companies investing in the growth potential of these applications. Recent licensing developments have aimed to tackle the issue of low GPS product penetration. According to Bonte, the licensing of Skyhook Wireless’ Wi-Fi positioning to GPS-chipset vendors Broadcom, Qualcomm, Sirf and CSR will contribute to widespread availability.
    Skyhook upgraded its software development kit to include support of Google’s Android, a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications as well as hybrid positioning that involves the GPS, Cell-ID and Wi-Fi elements of Bonte’s recipe for success. Google is doing its part by constructing its own reference databases of cell-tower and Wi-Fi hotspot locations through user-generated content and self-learning mechanisms, allowing Google to offer LBS services independent of carriers. Bonte said Google does plan on stopping there. “It is likely [Google] will make their location assets available to smaller vendors, further endangering the position of the carriers,” she said.
    Bonte also noted Sprint’s recent decision allowing third-party developers access to its network-based location platform via location aggregators such as Wavemarket, Loc-Aid and uLocate will stimulate the use of hybrid positioning. Sprint announced enhancements to its Nextel Direct Connect portfolio Jan. 13, including NextMail Locator, a push-to-send location capability. Using this service, Sprint’s customers can add GPS coordinates, street addresses and an interactive map of their current position to NextMail voice messages. These messages can then be sent to any email address.
    ABI’s research also shows that the handset market, backed by the growth potential of LBS enhancements, is recession proof. In a separate study released Jan. 20, “GPS-enabled Handsets,” ABI said shipments of these handsets will climb to 240 million units despite a projected drop of 4 percdnt to 5 percent in 2009. ABI called the performance of GPS-enabled handsets “surprising” and driven by the ongoing demand for feature-rich smartphones — a group that includes the Apple iPhone 3G, RIM’s BlackBerry devices and Nokia N series phones.
    Shipments of the devices will increase at an average annual unit shipment rate of 19 percent through 2014. During the period, GPS chipsets will continue to penetrate this segment with 9 of every 10 smartphones containing GPS chipsets in 2014, compared with one in three in 2008, the study said.