PNDs will navigate the holiday’s bumpy road

Flat-panel TVs and PCs may be the workhorse revenue drivers during the holiday season, but the same big price tags that help them achieve that standing also make them somewhat less popular as gifts. In contrast, portable electronics such as MP3 players and digital cameras have consistently been among the most popular holiday categories for the past few years because of their relatively small price tag and dimensions. They’re cheap to ship directly from an online retailer or to a distant relative or friend. They’re also products that consumers can take great advantage of in their daily lives, which further helps their gift appeal.

In that vein, there’s been doubt cast about how well Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs) will do this holiday season. Despite several attempts to turn them into everyday resources in the vehicle, they are still primarily used opportunistically or what I call the LOFT (Lost or First-Trip) scenario. At the high- end, Dash Navigation, which made a bold attempt to move the industry past LOFT, recently got out of the hardware business. It has, however, been quickly succeeded by Telenav with its slimmer and less esoteric Shotgun.

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