KEY POINTS:
SYDNEY - The marriage between the mobile phone and the personal navigation device is only young but it's a union that holds a lot of promise for consumers and telcos alike.
In recent years, mobile phone manufacturers have looked to squeeze as much functionality onto their handsets as possible.
Many additions such as cameras, FM radios and internet browsers are now almost standard features while extras such as torches and compasses that point the way to Mecca have captured more specific but very faithful markets.
But it's the ability to use your phone as a mapping device that holds the greatest potential for manufacturers looking to differentiate their products in what has become a very active and complicated market.
Advances in chipset technology and broader awareness of standalone global positioning system (GPS) devices are expected to help drive growth in the technology.
In June, Nokia launched its first mid-range handset with GPS capability called the 6110 Navigator last month.
While it's not the first device to feature a navigation application, the handset, which retails for $759, represents the first serious attempt to bring the technology to the lower end of town.
Unlike other optional features on mobile services, such as internet access or mobile television, the GPS system is not a metered service, one possible driver for its future take-up.
Nokia's other GPS offerings include the more business focused E90 and the N95, a top-end consumer product that is so heavy in bells and whistles, it's easy to forget that it can also make phone calls.
Technology research house Gartner expects that by 2010, 40 per cent of mobile devices globally will support GPS.
However, in Japan and North America, this percentage is expected to be closer to the 90 per cent mark, as government regulations force mobile makers to make their handsets "location aware" to assist responses to emergency calls.
At the moment, GPS is a feature commonly found on personal digital assistants (PDA) such as the E90 or BlackBerry.
And at this point in the technology's development, it is mainly the business-focused devices with deeper storage capacity and more powerful processors that can handle the demands of GPS use.
Other GPS-equipped devices include Taiwanese startup Mio's A701 and Motorola's E815.
But Nokia's introduction of GPS into the broader consumer base is likely to herald a slew of similar devices from competitors.
Standalone GPS products made by vendors such as Navman, Magellan and TomTom currently boast more advanced features than their pared-down mobile counterparts, such as touchscreens, larger displays and better interfaces.
But it's the all-in-one functionality of GPS phones that holds such promise for the units.
While a bit clunky and battery hungry for some users' tastes, Nokia's A$1379 ($1528) N95, which includes GPS, a five-megapixel camera with zoom lens and a media-player, perhaps represents the best value package for anyone looking for any of those devices as well as a mobile.
At present, phones such as the 6110 Navigator use a system called assisted GPS (A-GPS), which employs mobile internet connectivity to supply map information based on the raw position data provided by a constellation of satellites in the earth's orbit.
In many markets, A-GPS is also able to provide other data such as traffic information feeds or speed camera locations, however Australian carriers do not as yet provide such services.
But Gartner expects to see significant worldwide growth in the GPS phone market in the the second half of this year with major operators introducing new networks services.
"Adoption by network operators will largely determine the growth rate: in many regions, once an operator makes A-GPS a required feature, handset producers will follow suit," Gartner said.
- AAP
