Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs) seem to lose ground on the global navigation market in front of smartphones that feature GPS capabilities. According to a recent study published by iSuppli, smartphones are expected to surpass PNDs on the market by 2014. Moreover, the research firm also says that almost all smartphones available on the market by 2011 will include GPS capabilities.

The increase in GPS-enabled smartphones is something that has been mentioned before. According to iSuppli, while in 2009, a number of 114 million standalone personal navigation devices are expected to be in use, double the number of 57.8 million smartphones, yet things will change rapidly. By 2014, the firm states, there will be 305 million smartphones used for navigation, compared to 128 million PNDs.

“Previously, smartphones were not seen as a threat to the dominance of PNDs due to mobile handsets' poor battery life, unclear pricing structures and inferior interface,” said Danny Kim, global Location-Based Service (LBS) analyst for iSuppli. “However, as smartphone design moves forward, many of these issues have been or will be resolved, leading to increased market share for navigation applications on smart phones.”

It appears that the latest advancements in the smartphone area will help these devices take the lead on the navigation market. The latest smartphones come with larger screens and improved usability, better GPS integration and built-in connectivity, as well as support for the wide range of navigation applications that are being developed for them. Not to mention that their processors are increasing in power, while the battery life has been enhanced too.

“These features will give smart phones similar feature sets as mid-range PNDs, making them more attractive to users,” Kim adds. The powerful navigation applications that are currently available for smartphones will also drive the increased usage of these devices when it comes to navigation. More information on the firm's findings can be found here.