Canalys Navigation Forums go global in 2008

Canalys announced today that the Canalys Navigation Forum will span the globe in 2008, with four events running across Asia, the US and EMEA. Over the last three years Canalys has become the de-facto standard for independent market analysis and events covering the navigation sector – one of the fastest growing parts of the technology industry. In response to many requests from sponsors and attendees of the previous Canalys Navigation Forums, the company will greatly expand its global footprint in 2008. Two regional forums, covering the Americas and EMEA, will take place respectively in California in October and Hungary in September. These will be preceded by two national forums in May, in India and Taiwan.

“The navigation industry has grown rapidly from its humble beginnings a few years ago. It has helped make driving a better experience for many users of its products and brought its investors plenty of wealth. The rate of innovation is very impressive. This year will see big steps forward in pedestrian, as well as in-vehicle, navigation, and location-based services (LBS) for use on foot or in the car will also make significant progress in terms of usefulness and user acceptance,” said Chris Jones, Canalys vice president and principal analyst. “Most importantly, what was a Europe-centric industry has become global quite quickly. Navigation systems have now become one of the most important consumer electronics items in the US each fall, and the sector is springing to life in Asia. The global series of Canalys Navigation Forums will be pivotal in enabling industry participants to share experiences, gather knowledge and build important new relationships.”

The first two events for 2008 are one-day forums that will see Canalys analysts joined on stage by leading industry figures, in Bangalore, India on Tuesday May 13 and then in Taipei, Taiwan on Thursday May 15 2008. Rachel Lashford, manager of Canalys APAC, explained the concept: “Taiwanese companies build most of the navigation devices shipped worldwide. In less than two years these products have moved from being experimental to core within their portfolios. It is vital that these companies understand how long the navigation market boom will continue, the reasons why the pace of uptake varies around the world and which innovations to look out for. Other attendees will relish the chance to meet the manufacturers on their home territory. A day spent with their peers and the experts at Canalys will be invaluable to understanding where growth will come from next and planning for the future.”

Lashford continued, “Navigation faces unique challenges in India. This is a country with a population of more than a billion people and a fast growth economy, yet many roads still do not even have names. Duties on the import of technology goods have hampered navigation industry growth so far, but these are set to ease and the quality and availability of maps is rising fast. India represents enormous potential and we chose Bangalore for this event to recognise the opening of its new international airport – what better symbol could there be of how India is beginning to overcome its great infrastructure challenges? We are looking forward to a fascinating day as we share our research findings and expectations, give attendees the chance to hear from global navigation visionaries and listen to industry experts discuss the future of the Indian market.”

From September 8 to September 10, 2008, Canalys will host its third annual EMEA forum, at the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest, Hungary. The many hundreds of people who attended the previous EMEA events rated them exceptionally highly. The EMEA forum is recognised as the critical navigation industry event for CEOs, marketing and sales specialists across the region. These events were pivotal in raising attendees’ awareness of the massive opportunities for navigation, as well as their understanding of the unusual and unsustainable industry value chain, which has since been so radically redefined.  

The 2008 world series of events will reach the US in October. The Canalys Navigation Forum Americas will take place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay, California, from October 14 to October 15, 2008. This two-day event will combine informal networking time with hard-hitting industry presentations and discussion. It will take place during a period of exponential growth for navigation within the world’s largest economy. Some of the major issues covered will include the importance of traffic, the influence of the mobile carriers, competition between product categories, evolution of the industry ecosystem, and the potential of location services. Key industry leaders will take part in what will be the most prestigious dedicated navigation industry conference ever seen in the United States.

More information regarding these events will be released regularly over the coming months. Please visit our events page for the latest information. A limited number of complimentary places are available for the press at each of these events. To request one of these places please contact us via the web site, or by e-mail to canalys_events@canalys.com.

About Canalys

Canalys specialises in delivering high quality market data, analysis and advice to the world’s leading technology vendors. It is recognised as a key provider of continuous advisory services and confidential custom projects for marketing managers and strategists within blue-chip IT, telecoms, navigation and consumer electronics companies. It has unrivalled expertise in routes to market for all kinds of high technology products and services in the consumer, SMB and large enterprise segments, and provides worldwide market data and trends analysis.

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