GPS and Mobile Handsets Market

GPS and Mobile Handsets Market

The primary driver for mass adoption of GPS enabled handsets has been the Enhanced 911
mandate in the US. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has required all mobile
operators to introduce high-accuracy positioning in order to enable precise location of mobile
callers placing 911 emergency calls. So far, iDEN and CDMA operators have chosen A-GPS
as the means of complying with these regulations. Moreover, these operators have launched
several successful commercial services, especially turn-by-turn navigation services that
leverage the large installed base of GPS-enabled handsets. CDMA operators in countries
such as Japan and South Korea have also deployed numerous location-based services that
utilise GPS.

Although the first GSM handsets with integrated GPS were launched already in the late
1990’s, broader availability of consumer-oriented handsets with GPS did not appear until late
2006, primarily in Japan. Outside Japan, numerous smartphone vendors have introduced
handsets with GPS during 2007. Moreover, the largest handset vendor in the world, Nokia,
accelerated its LBS initiative by acquiring the leading digital map provider NAVTEQ. In
response to increasing interest in location-based services, as well as to comply with
regulations, all major handset vendors have now presented GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA
handsets.

Compared to a few years ago, GPS technology for handsets has matured considerably,
offering much better performance in terms of sensitivity, power consumption, size and price.
What is more, the OMA SUPL A-GPS standard has enabled lower cost deployment of A-GPS
services that ensure a better and more consistent user experience necessary for the mass
consumer market. The SUPL A-GPS standard allows network operators or handset
manufacturers to deploy assistance services that reduce the time to first fix, lowers the power
consumption, and enhances the sensitivity of the GPS receiver. The SUPL standard uses
User Plane communication channels such as SMS and GPRS to transport the aiding data, as
opposed to the control plane channels in networks, thereby reducing the load on the
networks, as well as complexity and cost of service deployment. New business models have
also become possible, ranging from hosted services for operators that want to minimise
capital investments, to services deployed by handset vendors for end-users that cannot get
similar services from their network operator yet.

The major handset software platforms and operating systems are evolving, ensuring easier
integration of GPS functionality for handset manufacturers and more powerful features for
application developers. Along with the improving performance of handsets, in terms of screen
size, processing power and memory size, current handsets thus provide much better
platforms for location-enabled applications and services than before.

The GPS value-chain was reshaped considerably in 2007 as several specialist GPS
technology developers were acquired by wireless chipset vendors. These transactions are
likely to enhance the possibilities to meet handset manufacturers’ demand for integrated
connectivity solutions that include GPS at ever lower price points to enable true mass market
deployment.

Sales of GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handsets grew to about 24.5 million units in 2007.
Although the number is very small in comparison with the 150 million GPS-enabled CDMA
handsets sold, the number is growing rapidly. Berg Insight estimates that shipments of GPSenabled
GSM/WCDMA handsets will grow to 370 million units in 2012, the equivalent of more
than 26 percent of all GSM/WCDMA handsets sold that year. Including CDMA handsets, GPSenabled
handsets sales are estimated to reach about 560 million, or 35 percent of total
handset shipments in 2012.

Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ i
List of Figures............................................................................................................................. v
Executive summary.....................................................................................................................1
1 GNSS in mobile phones ......................................................................................................3
1.1 Introduction to GPS in mobile phones ........................................................................3
1.1.1 GPS enabled mobile phones ................................................................................3
1.1.2 Global navigation satellite systems.......................................................................4
1.2 Value-chain overview...................................................................................................5
1.2.1 Wireless chipset vendors ......................................................................................5
1.2.2 GPS chipset vendors.............................................................................................6
1.2.3 Handset OS and software vendors .......................................................................6
1.2.4 Handset manufacturers.........................................................................................6
1.2.5 Location-platform vendors ....................................................................................7
1.2.6 Application developers..........................................................................................7
1.3 Drivers and barriers to GPS integration.......................................................................8
1.3.1 Key drivers.............................................................................................................8
1.3.2 Key barriers ...........................................................................................................9
1.4 GPS-enabled handsets..............................................................................................11
1.4.1 CDMA handsets ..................................................................................................11
1.4.2 GSM/WCDMA handsets......................................................................................12
1.5 Location-based services............................................................................................16
2 Satellite positioning technology.........................................................................................19
2.1 Overview of global navigation satellite systems........................................................19
2.1.1 Global Positioning System (GPS) .......................................................................20
2.1.2 Galileo .................................................................................................................23
2.1.3 GLONASS............................................................................................................26
2.1.4 Beidou/Compass.................................................................................................27
2.2 Assisted GPS and hybrid location technologies .......................................................27
2.2.1 Assisted GPS.......................................................................................................27
2.2.2 Enhanced GPS....................................................................................................29
2.2.3 Hybrid technologies ............................................................................................29
2.3 GPS receiver architectures ........................................................................................30
2.3.1 Standalone receivers...........................................................................................31
2.3.2 Host-based receivers ..........................................................................................31
2.3.3 Integrated receiver architectures.........................................................................32
2.3.4 Software-based receivers....................................................................................32
2.4 Handset hardware and software platforms ...............................................................32
2.5 Mobile network positioning platforms .......................................................................34
2.5.1 GSM/WCDMA networks ......................................................................................35
2.5.2 CDMA2000 networks...........................................................................................36
3 GPS and wireless chipset developers ...............................................................................39
3.1 Overview of the GPS and wireless chipset industry..................................................39
3.2 GPS chipset developers ............................................................................................40
3.2.1 Cambridge Silicon Radio ....................................................................................42
3.2.2 CellGuide.............................................................................................................43
3.2.3 eRide ...................................................................................................................44
3.2.4 NemeriX...............................................................................................................45
3.2.5 Seiko Epson Corporation....................................................................................46
3.2.6 SiRF Technology.................................................................................................47
3.2.7 SkyTraq Technology ...........................................................................................49
3.2.8 u-blox...................................................................................................................49
3.2.9 u-Nav Microelectronics........................................................................................51
3.3 Handset chipset and platform developers ................................................................52
3.3.1 Broadcom............................................................................................................53
3.3.2 Ericsson Mobile Platforms...................................................................................54
3.3.3 Freescale Semiconductor ...................................................................................55
3.3.4 Infineon Technologies.........................................................................................56
3.3.5 MediaTek.............................................................................................................57
3.3.6 NXP Semiconductors ..........................................................................................58
3.3.7 Qualcomm...........................................................................................................59
3.3.8 Renesas Technology...........................................................................................62
3.3.9 STMicroelectronics..............................................................................................62
3.3.10 Texas Instruments ...............................................................................................63
4 Enabling software and services.........................................................................................67
4.1 A-GPS server platforms and assistance services......................................................67
4.1.1 NEC .....................................................................................................................68
4.1.2 TeleCommunication Systems .............................................................................69
4.1.3 TruePosition ........................................................................................................70
4.1.4 Rx Networks ........................................................................................................71
4.2 Handset application platforms and OS .....................................................................72
4.2.1 BREW..................................................................................................................72
4.2.2 Java Micro Edition ...............................................................................................74
4.2.3 Openwave MIDAS platform.................................................................................75
4.2.4 Symbian OS ........................................................................................................76
4.2.5 Windows Mobile ..................................................................................................79
4.2.6 The Android platform ..........................................................................................80
5 Handset manufacturers .....................................................................................................83
5.1 Nokia..........................................................................................................................85
5.2 Samsung Electronics.................................................................................................87
5.3 Motorola.....................................................................................................................89
5.4 Sony Ericsson............................................................................................................91
5.5 LG Electronics ...........................................................................................................93
5.6 Research In Motion....................................................................................................94
5.7 HTC............................................................................................................................96
5.8 Second tier handset vendors ....................................................................................98
5.8.1 Casio Computer ..................................................................................................98
5.8.2 Fujitsu ..................................................................................................................99
5.8.3 Hitachi .................................................................................................................99
5.8.4 Kyocera .............................................................................................................100
5.8.5 Mitsubishi ..........................................................................................................100
5.8.6 NEC ...................................................................................................................101
5.8.7 Panasonic..........................................................................................................101
5.8.8 Sanyo Electric ...................................................................................................101
5.8.9 Sharp.................................................................................................................102
5.8.10 Toshiba..............................................................................................................102
5.8.11 Amoi ..................................................................................................................103
5.8.12 ASUSTeK...........................................................................................................103
5.8.13 E-TEN ................................................................................................................104
5.8.14 Gigabyte ............................................................................................................104
5.8.15 Hewlett Packard ................................................................................................104
5.8.16 i-mate.................................................................................................................105
5.8.17 Mio Technology.................................................................................................105
5.8.18 Palm...................................................................................................................106
5.8.19 Pantech .............................................................................................................106
5.8.20 ZTE ....................................................................................................................107
6 Market forecasts and trends ............................................................................................109
6.1 Market trends...........................................................................................................109
6.2 Worldwide handset sales ........................................................................................111
6.3 GPS-enabled CDMA handset shipments ................................................................113
6.4 GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handset shipments....................................................114
6.5 GPS-enabled handset sales by region....................................................................116
6.6 GPS solution revenues ............................................................................................118
Glossary .................................................................................................................................121


Figure 1.1: GPS handset and service value chain......................................................................5
Figure 1.2: Development of key performance parameters for GPS in handsets .......................9
Figure 1.3: Examples of recent GPS-enabled CDMA handsets ..............................................11
Figure 1.4: Examples of recent GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handsets..................................12
Figure 1.5: Current GPS enabled GSM/WCDMA handsets, by vendor ...................................13
Figure 1.6: Examples of recent Japanese GPS-enabled WCDMA handsets ..........................14
Figure 1.7: Examples of current GPS enabled NTT DoCoMo FOMA handsets.......................15
Figure 2.1: GPS navigation message .......................................................................................21
Figure 2.2: Galileo navigation services and performance ........................................................25
Figure 2.3: Current and planned Galileo and GPS signals ......................................................25
Figure 2.4: Assisted GPS technologies ....................................................................................28
Figure 2.5: Mobile phone hardware and software platform......................................................33
Figure 2.6: LBS system overview..............................................................................................35
Figure 2.7: CDMA2000 location system overview ....................................................................37
Figure 3.1: Wireless chipset revenues, by company (2007) ....................................................39
Figure 3.2: GPS technology developers and offerings.............................................................41
Figure 3.3: CellGuide GPS chipset ...........................................................................................43
Figure 3.4: Examples of eRide GPS receivers for mobile applications ....................................44
Figure 3.5: Examples of NemeriX GPS ICs...............................................................................46
Figure 3.6: SiRF GPS ICs for wireless applications..................................................................48
Figure 3.7: Examples of u-blox GPS receivers for mobile applications ...................................50
Figure 3.8: The u-Nav uN3010 single die GPS receiver ...........................................................51
Figure 3.9: Examples of handset platform and wireless IC developers ...................................52
Figure 3.10: Broadcom EDGE and WCDMA/HSDPA baseband processors...........................54
Figure 3.11: Examples of Infineon handset platforms ..............................................................57
Figure 3.12: The GloNav GNS4540 A-GPS receiver.................................................................59
Figure 3.13: Qualcomm wireless chipset sales ........................................................................60
Figure 3.14: Examples of Qualcomm wireless chipsets...........................................................61
Figure 3.15: Examples of Texas Instruments wireless chipsets ...............................................64
Figure 5.1: Tier 1 mobile phone and smartphone manufacturers............................................83
Figure 5.2: Tier 2 handset manufacturers.................................................................................84
Figure 5.3: Nokia handset sales and market share .................................................................86
Figure 5.4: Nokia GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handsets .......................................................87
Figure 5.5: Samsung handset sales and market share............................................................88
Figure 5.6: Samsung GPS-enabled handsets .........................................................................89
Figure 5.7: Motorola GPS-enabled handsets ..........................................................................90
Figure 5.8: Motorola handset sales and market share .............................................................91
Figure 5.9: Sony Ericsson handset sales and market share ....................................................92
Figure 5.10: LG handset sales and market share.....................................................................94
Figure 5.11: RIM handset sales and market share ...................................................................95
Figure 5.12: RIM BlackBerry smartphones..............................................................................96
Figure 5.13: GPS-enabled HTC handsets ...............................................................................97
Figure 6.1: Price development for GPS receivers...................................................................110
Figure 6.2: Worldwide handset sales by technology (2006-2012) .........................................112
Figure 6.3: GPS enabled handset sales as share of total CDMA handset sales....................113
Figure 6.4: Number of GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handset models available ....................114
Figure 6.5: GPS enabled GSM/WCDMA handset sales by segment (WW 2006–2012).........115
Figure 6.6: GPS enabled handset sales as share of total GSM/WCDMA handset sales .......116
Figure 6.7: GPS handset sales and share of total GSM/WCDMA handset sales by region...117
Figure 6.8: GPS revenues by category (2006-2012) ..............................................................119