ABI Research: In Asia, Handset-Based Navigation Enters the Vehicle Through Different Doors.

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- Navigation and location-based services in East Asia are showing differences based on the varied conditions in the nations of the region.

According to ABI Research, handset-based vehicle navigation will certainly take a share of the in-vehicle navigation market. But its popularity varies from country to country.

The company's new study, "The Asia Pacific Market for Handset-Based Navigation in the Vehicle" takes a penetrating look at these markets in mainland China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Detailed information, such as features and fee schedules, is listed for each service, and it includes company profiles of wireless operators as well as subscriber and revenue forecasts for handset-based vehicle navigation markets.

In Japan, where the navigation market is far more advanced than in other parts of Asia, handset-based vehicle navigation services will have a hard time competing against "incumbent" in-vehicle systems. But, benefiting from low pricing and increasing 3G penetration, they will be attractive to occasional navigation service users.

In China, more and more families in urban areas do own cars, but navigation systems remain a luxury for most Chinese people. Thus, handset based navigation services will be an attractively cheap substitute.

In the initial stages, navigation services do include voice instruction and direction guides, but few more dynamic features are available, due to the under-developed ITS in China. ABI research expects that the ITS will be fully established in big cities before 2008 when the Olympic Games will be held in Beijing.

In Korea, handset-based navigation services have achieved considerable success already. The three largest wireless carriers are all offering handset based navigation services.

Pedestrian navigation services are currently offered in Japan and Korea as well as in China, but ABI Research believes that occasional users will continue to represent a significant share of the subscriber base until a more interactive and dynamic system is established, and positioning technology with higher accuracy is developed.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations that support annual research programs, intelligence services and market reports in wireless, automotive, semiconductors, broadband, and energy. For more information please visit www.abiresearch.com, or call 516.624.2500.