Analysts think you're going to want to buy a connected GPS in 5 years

google_navigationAnalyst firm, Berg Insight, thinks that eighty-eight percent of all GPS units shipped in 2015 will have cellular connectivity. This seems like a blindingly obvious prediction to me.

My loathing of analyst firms isn’t exactly a secret. This is exactly why I think they serve no practical purpose. Berg Insight says that 5 years from now, most of the GPS devices will have cellular technology built into them for the purposes of downloading data on demand as you travel. Connected GPS units aren’t expected to hit big in 2010, but the growth will continue as people get used to live services that tell you how to avoid traffic problems and speed traps. Sales should peak at about 50 million units per year and then decline slowly after that.

Of course, in 2015 no one will remember this report, so it really doesn’t matter if they are right or wrong. I predict that they are wrong. I think the industry is going to move much faster than this analyst has predicted, due to technology like Google’s new navigation on the Android phone. How many GPS manufacturers are going to see that tech and realize that they’ve been out-googled and have to come up with a way to provide the same types of services in order to remain competitive.

Of course, all of this will be moot after December 2012 anyway, right?