 |
Canalys Navigation Forums go global in 2008
- Events planned for India, Taiwan, EMEA and the US
Singapore and Reading (UK) - Tuesday, 22 January 2008
For immediate release
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.
Receiving updates
To receive future Canalys press releases
directly, please e-mail a request with your details to press@canalys.com
or complete this form
specifying the technology market topics in which you are most
interested.
|
|
