There’s no longer any excuse for being late for a meeting because you got lost on the way. Satellite navigation boxes have freed drivers from the hassle of finding their way.

The satellite navigation market continues to be highly competitive. Tom Tom leads the way in the UK but is increasingly under pressure to maintain its massive market share. Competing for the number two position are brands such as Garmin and Navman. Both have recently been promoting products packed with features at extremely competitive price points, which have allowed them to successfully encroach on Tom Tom’s territory.

Sat-nav manufacturers are not only competing with each other but have become increasingly under pressure from a new threat - the mobile phone. Mobile phones with integrated global positioning systems (GPS) are becoming more advanced and are putting pressure on the traditional big names in the marketplace. Car manufacturers are also increasing the availability of vehicles with integrated GPS as an optional or standard feature.

According to a recent report, 16 million GPS-enabled smart phones will be shipped worldwide by 2010. This will account for around one-quarter of the total devices for portable navigation.

Sat-nav companies will be forced to dream up new innovative features and services in order to maintain and penetrate further the market for all GPS map based offerings.

A recent survey identified that 60 per cent of drivers only travel into unfamiliar areas five per cent of the time, while the small percentage of travellers that regularly take their vehicle into new areas tend to have already invested in low-cost navigation gadgets.

It is vital that the next-generation of in-car sat-nav products provide additional functions and features to keep drivers buying. One new technology introduced recently by Navman called ‘NavPix’ aims to do just that. These units contain a built in 1.3mp camera. The idea is that rather than search for locations by the traditional post code or street name you use pictures containing GPS locations built up in the on board album. Recent reviews have questioned the necessity of this feature; however, this innovative approach is vital to the continued success of the GPS market.

It is becoming apparent that traditional sat nav manufacturers have two choices - keep innovating around existing products or focus on providing the functionality to third parties such as car companies or mobile phone manufacturers.

It is worth bearing in mind that sat-nav products are now being sold and used by most small and medium-sized businesses. Users include sales reps, delivery drivers and taxi drivers and there are many untapped smaller niche sales opportunities out there. It is important to stress to sales teams where sat-nav systems can add value to businesses rather than just the gadget’s specifications.

Every now and then something comes along that alters the lives of millions – mobile phones, aspirin etc. Sat nav is certainly on the list. The future of the dedicated GPS device remains to be seen but as long as sat-navs are saving people time, money and frayed nerves, sales opportunities will exist in the marketplace.