Technology that allows cellphones to be used as navigation devices in cars took a step forward. German car industry group Consumer Electronics for Automotive (CE4A) unveiled a standard for the technology, which is being pushed by Nokia. The personal navigation device (PND) industry, led by TomTom and Garmin, has been hit badly by competition from navigation-enabled smartphones.
When the new "terminal mode" standard is included in cars - likely starting next year - it enables consumers to plug a wire to their smartphones in the car and without any additional set-up issues to use navigation or other features of their phones directly from a screen built into the car.
"Immediate impact of this is limited, but if you get a credible, good enough experience from the phone navigation in the car - it removes the need to have any PND," said Tim Shepherd, analyst with research firm Canalys.
"We have seen a lot of interest in terminal mode from system vendors and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers)," Navteq's Chief Executive Larry Kaplan told Reuters in a recent interview.