According to an ABI research forecast, handset-based navigation shipments are predicted to grow at a compound annual Growth Rate of 43 percent over the next five years. Shipments are expected to rise from 30 million in 2010 to 181 million in 2015.

"The handset navigation boom is largely driven by free turn-by-turn navigation solutions recently made available by Nokia and Google (News - Alert), Telematics and navigation practice director Dominique Bonte, said.

Substantiating his statement, Bonte added that Nokia's Ovi Maps had been downloaded more than 10 million times, and Google Maps Navigation initially available only on android Phones, was being introduced gradually on other platforms and in other markets also.

Latest financial results from Personal Navigation Device Vendors TomTom (News - Alert) and Garmin show that they have reached the point of saturation, and PND sales are declining in North America and Europe.

At the same time both companies' entries into the handset space, with iPhone (News - Alert) navigation software and the nüvifone range respectively, have seen mixed results.

Location -Based-Services and Navigation-based-Services are being bundled along with other packages from handset vendors and carriers, subsidized by smartphone hardware or data communication revenues.

"These new business model paradigms upset the traditional value chain in which the end user pays directly for value-added mobile services, Bonte said, and added that this put pressure on the smaller independent vendors, who were unable to leverage market share and brand, and unable to generate new revenue streams through the usual means. Hence, consolidation would be inevitable.

The new market database by ABI Research (News - Alert) provides compartmentalized forecasts for in-dash, portable and handset-based navigation systems and solutions region-wise, and a second section contains data on subscribers, revenue, and publicly announced commercial carrier deployments for the LBS sector.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia.