Study: Age dictates navigation service usage

Americans use navigation devices and applications differently according to their age, reports a recent consumer survey conducted by market data firm ABI Research. An ABI online survey conducted in August reveals that while portable navigation devices are the most commonly-used type of navigation device across all age brackets, mobile phones or PDAs with navigation services are much more likely to be used by consumers under age 35. Moreover, significantly higher percentages of consumers under age 45 use one- or two-way connected PNDs, with a substantially higher segment of younger users downloading location-based search and traffic information.

"With navigation solutions quickly spreading to all age groups in society, it becomes increasingly important for navigation vendors to offer products which address the different needs of the different age segments," said ABI Research director Dominique Bonte in a prepared statement. "While younger age groups are willing to adopt new connected navigation form factors and services, older groups clearly prefer no-frills, affordable, easy to use, ‘working out of the box' non-connected PNDs."

For more on the ABI Research survey:
- read this release

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