According to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) TechNavio's analysts forecast the Global GNSS market to grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 20.98% over the period 2012-2016.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the growing popularity of location-based services (LBS). The Global GNSS market has also been witnessing the increased replacement of PNDs by smartphones. However, the reduced investments due to global recession could pose a challenge to the growth of this market. The key vendors dominating this market space are Apple, Garmin, Tomtom N.V., Broadcom Corp., STMicroelectronics, Navteq Corp., Google and Samsung Corp.

Commenting on the report, an analyst from TechNavio's Telecom team said: ''One of the major trends being witnessed in the Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) market is the increase in the replacement of PNDs with smartphones. The demand for personal navigation devices (PNDs), which was high initially, is currently declining as a result of their being gradually phased out by the increased usage of smartphones. Smartphones, particularly iPhones and those driven by Android, now have integrated mapping and navigation features. These features are not chargeable, which makes them more attractive to end-users. PNDs are currently still popular in North America and some parts of the EMEA region; however, the market penetration of smartphones with navigation capabilities is increasing rapidly and it is expected to overtake the penetration of PNDs even in these regions in the near future."

According to the report, the main factor that drives the demand for GNSSs is the increasing popularity of LBSs, which are information services used by advertising professionals to promote location-specific products and services. Location-based Services (LBSs) are highly beneficial not only to advertising professionals, who can efficiently promote their products and services, but also to the end-users of the products, who can reap the benefits of regional offers.