Research reports only tell part of story, and since no two agree, investment fund managers need an interpreter to fill in the blanks. These people have purchased the reports but are not getting closure. The most difficult part in these discussions is always trying the resolve the significant differences between the various research reports' findings.

TomTom, Microsoft, Garmin, Navteq, Magellan, Mio, and OnStar have all either opened offices in China or are joint-venturing with Chinese companies. These non-Chinese manufacturers have a short window of opportunity to build brand recognition, create market share, and get customers using their operating systems or mapping data. Once the China dragon gets out of the box, the fight will be on for hundreds of millions of unit sales.

With the Q1 numbers in, it is clear that the consumer market is cooling off along with the economy. It may be time for navigation device makers to return to their roots, and look at commercial fleet opportunities. In fact the current economic situation is actually helping drive sales in this market.

Sometimes I have to step away from my consultant role and forget about market analysis, trends, and whatnot. I have to stop and remember what's really cool about this industry: the neat gadgets that come out of it.

The market for UWB devices looks very strong indeed. Potential location applications already envisioned or being created for UWB include emergency services, asset tracking, and manufacturing inventory management.

The role of OEM supplier may not be as high-profile as that of GPS navigation device manufacturer, but it's invaluable. The proof? There is at least one chip and antenna on every GPS device we use.

Establishing a company in a new vertical segment is expensive, but those that succeed in being first can bag significant defendable market share — and that means big bucks.

In a short time, the current consumer markets have enlarged to the point that almost 10 percent of U.S. households now own some personal navigation device.

Black Friday wasn't grim for GPS retailers; the holidays are off to a record start for purchases of GPS devices.