While GPS ownership is still relatively small at 18 percent of online consumers, CEA market research demonstrates growing consumer interest, with shipment revenues nearly tripling between 2005 and 2006.

Consumer satisfaction among owners of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices is high, and consumer interest for the technology is exploding, according to a research report released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). GPS - Exploring Ownership and Interest revealed an 80 percent owner satisfaction rate, which was strongly influenced by the ease of use and display quality of the devices, which are used primarily for navigation assistance in a vehicle.

GPS devices are becoming an increasingly important part of the rent-to-own consumer electronics segment.

“Convergence has spread GPS across multiple product segments resulting in greater consumer awareness and budding adoption of the technology,” said Steve Koenig, CEA’s senior manager of industry analysis. “The availability of new services like real-time traffic information will continue to drive this segment forward in the coming years.”

While GPS ownership is still relatively small at 18 percent of online consumers, CEA market research demonstrates growing consumer interest, with shipment revenues nearly tripling between 2005 and 2006. Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of online consumers are planning to purchase a GPS device within the next year, spending an average of $410, which could result in sales reaching $4.1 billion in 2007.

The study shows that 33 percent of future GPS buyers are interested in owning a cell phone that has GPS/navigation capabilities, making navigation on-the-go even easier. In addition to in-car navigation, owners of portable or hand-held GPS devices cite other uses for the technology, such as hiking (18 percent), walking (16 percent), boating (14 percent), biking (7 percent), running (6 percent) and even flying (4 percent).