[Satellite Today 07-03-09] ABI Research expects the number of paying handset-based turn-by-turn navigation users to increase to 26 million by the end of 2010, primarily driven by strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region, according to an ABI Reasearch report released July 2.

While automotive in-dash navigation device sales continue to suffer from the economic recession, handset-based turn-by-turn navigation is boosted by the rapidly growing smartphone segment, according to "Automotive Navigation Forecasts Market Data.”

“The most significant driver for the uptake of handset navigation is expected to come from the iPhone, following Apple’s decision to finally enable turn-by-turn navigation on its latest 3.0 platform version," ABI research analyst Dominique Bonte said in the report.

However, Bonte adds that "high monthly subscription fees and data roaming costs will need to be addressed for off-board navigation on handsets to reach high penetration levels.”