Future of LBS!

Consumers are prepared to pay more for a phone with navigation, which would make it different from other new mobile services such as TV. There is a boom in the number of portable navigation devices being bought, with 9.9 million sold globally in the first nine months of 2006, more than twice the number in the first nine months of 2005, and they pay between 300-500 euros.

Nokia's plans are to give away maps and local searches and charge users extra for city guides and navigational services. Nokia hopes that by adding new features to its phones it will be able to control the decline in handset prices.

Source: WSJ