German global positioning system (GPS) vendor, Navigon, has entered the South African market, in partnership with global convergence technology company, Leaf International Communications.
Kicking off Navigon`s entry into the local market, Leaf will be distributing the company`s 5100 and 7100 GPS devices, which will be widely available to South African consumers from October 2007.
"We decided to partner with Navigon for a number of reasons," says Leaf International Communications managing director, Quinton Leigh.
"First, we believe the company`s development roadmap is very compelling. The products being introduced offer a lot in the way of quality and functionality - which is not common in many of the low-cost devices being sold in the local market.
"In addition, there is a huge need to increase the competition in the local GPS market and we saw the value in bringing a brand with Navigon`s reputation to South Africa and making it exclusive to Leaf," Leigh adds.
According to Leaf, with ever-decreasing costs and the breadth of current and future functionality, personal navigation is one of the fastest-growing consumer markets.
"We believe we can put Navigon on the map both in South Africa and in sub-Saharan Africa," Leigh comments.
Navigon has been developing mapping software since 1991 after only entering the navigation hardware arena in the last two years, and is currently ranked third in terms of GPS market share in Europe.
"What makes Navigon such an appealing brand," says Leigh, "is the fact that Navigon engineers its GPS devices from the ground up.
"Most GPS manufacturers will design the hardware and then outsource the mapping software to a third party," he explains, "but with Navigon the whole process is being followed through by one company. This means the company has direct control over the hardware, the software and the interface - ensuring users` needs are always taken into consideration when developing products," he explains.
According to Leaf, future functionality, which Navigon is currently considering bringing to the local market, includes the ability to have its GPS units retrofitted into a user`s car. This essentially means you can have your dashboard removed and replaced with one that has a Navigon GPS mounted inside it as an optional extra.
By the first quarter next year, Navigon will have a presence in Mozambique, Botswana and Cameroon, so anyone using Navigon devices in these countries will have access to accurate, up-to-date map data for these territories.
"Although we realise there are a lot of big brands in the GPS arena both in South Africa and worldwide, we predict that eventually the market will be dominated by four or five players, one of which we firmly believe will be Navigon," Leigh concludes.
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