Wireless chipset maker MediaTek has been dropped to fourth place in the global GNSS market, said ABI Research in its competitive analysis report.
The drop in MediaTek position to fourth place is primarily due to a lack of innovation, new GNSS or indoor location products. The drop did not affect its IC market share. Despite the dip in position, MediaTek won a GNSS IC contract from Fitbit for wearables.
“MediaTek has a history of delivering when its customers need innovation. There will be new product announcements from the company in 2016, especially around indoor location,” said says Patrick Connolly, principal analyst at ABI Research.
u-blox has moved to the third ranking as the IC company continues to lead the way in its core markets, while also expanding into the emerging IoT space.
Qualcomm and Broadcom, soon to be acquired by Avago, are the first and second players in the GNSS market.
ABI Research said the GNSS market is shifting in new directions emerging in automotive, insurance, wearables, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and IoT. The GNSS market is forecast to continue to grow strongly.
Beyond GNSS, both Qualcomm and Broadcom offer comprehensive location technology platforms in HULA (Broadcom) and Izat (Qualcomm), which will enable smartphone OEMs to begin offering ubiquitous location in 2016. Qualcomm’s work on LED/VLC and LTE Direct illustrates the gap that now exists between it and pure-play GNSS IC vendors.
STMicroelectronics, ranking fifth in GNSS market, is seeing customers migrate to its new TESEO III platform. Its modular approach should also enable it to move beyond its traditional markets of automotive and recreational / fitness.
ABI Research said that Chinese start-up CEC Huada is becoming a major international player. Galileo Satellite Navigation, which focuses on software GPS, is reporting impressive results in trials.
Meanwhile, MediaTek Labs announced the MediaTek LinkIt Smart 7688 development platform that enables development of Wi-Fi based devices such as IP cameras, surveillance devices, smart appliances and Wi-Fi gateways. The price of LinkIt Smart 7688 is $12.90, while the LinkIt Smart 7688 Duo costs $15.90.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com