Demand from the cellular industry for GPS ICs nearly doubled during 2009, according to IMS Research.
IMS Research, which operates a service tracking GPS IC shipments, has reported that the cellular market for GPS ICs grew 91% in 2009. In absolute terms, IMS estimated that mobile phones accounted for 76 million GPS IC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2009, with 40 million shipped in 4Q 2008.
In terms of market share, that was enough to lift cellularfrom 80% to 83%. The next biggest sector was the PND sector, with 8.2 million in 4Q 2009 – 9% of the market.
Tom Arran, research analyst at IMS Research, said Ericsson and Texas Instrument were two companies showing good growth.
Arran added that digital cameras and notebooks would be the next markets to show major growth.