National Press Release

Smartphone is the Killer Device to Create a Successful Business Model in Russia

LONDON, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Automotive & Transportation Group at Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce its 2009 Quarterly Analyst Briefing Presentation on the Russian Navigation Market to be held on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 3.00 p.m. GMT.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

The Russian navigation market in 2008 saw a flurry of activities from the GPS enabled Smartphone segment with a unit sales of close to 220,000 units in the first half of 2008. There is a clear pattern emerging in the Russian market where close to 30% of the consumers prefer Smartphone based navigation solutions for their next purchase. Added to this, Russian consumers are also willing to pay up to euro 8 per month for a vehicle tracking solution based on the mobile phone.

In the recently completed Frost & Sullivan survey on Russian consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for connected navigation and location based services, where a sample of 600 Russian consumers were interviewed, it is clear that low cost and multifunctionality of Smartphones are the key reasons for being favored in this region. More than 30% Russian consumers are also willing to pay up to euro 100 for a low cost Bluetooth mobile phone with eCall solution.

This clearly establishes that in emerging markets, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers need to address the market with low cost solutions, which clearly demonstrates value for the end consumer. The briefing will provide more inputs on Russian consumer preferences and how suppliers and OEMs need to shape their strategies to make the best out of this market waiting to explode.

This briefing will be useful for vehicle manufacturers, navigation hardware and software suppliers, digital map providers, smartphone vendors and telematics service providers dealing with services like eCall and stolen vehicle tracking to understand the consumer's mindset, demands and willingness to pay for different services in Russia.

"The Russian navigation market started off with a strong preference for portable navigation devices (PND), but the year 2008 witnessed a turn around where PND's have taken a back seat compared to Smartphone based solutions with vendors like HTC tasting good success selling GPS enabled Smartphones packaged with navigation services along with local telecom operators. Clearly, Russian consumer preferences also show that there is a willingness to pay a subscription fee for services like vehicle tracking, eCall and real time traffic information, which makes a Smartphone based device and service portfolio the ideal strategy to aggressively penetrate this market," says Industry Manager Praveen Chandrasekar.

To participate, please email Anna Anlauft at anna.anlauft@frost.com with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, e-mail, address, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, a registration link will be e-mailed to you. You may also register to receive a recorded version of the briefing at anytime by submitting the aforementioned contact details.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

    Contact:
    Anna Anlauft
    European Corporate Communications
    Automotive & Transportation
    P: 0049 69 770 33 12
    F: 0049 69 23 45 66
    E: anna.anlauft@frost.com
    http://www.frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan