Personal sat nav use soars

PEOPLE WHO don't know where they are and where they want to go today have caused sales of personal navigation devices (PNDs) to soar.

The GPS based systems, which people can use in their horse and carriages as well as if they're on their Shanks's Ponies are the bee's knees, according to market research firm iSuppli.

A total of 65.1 million navigation systems will ship by 2012, three times the 19.8 million that shipped in 2006, the firm said. That's caused market leaders Tom-Tom and Garmin to be two of the fastest growing semiconductor buyers in the world.

There's a move away from embedded systems in cars to so-called line-fit units but other firms are starting to eye up the big two.

And one of them is good old Taiwanese firm Mitac which now owns the Navman brand and nabbed a 20 per cent market share in 2006, said iSuppli, which let the cat nav out of the bag. µ