WebProNews

Mobile mapping portals continue to grow in popularity, but PC-based mapping sites continue to attract more visitors, according to a new report from ABI Research.

The report found that the Asia-Pacific region is currently lagging behind North America and Europe, but it is on track to surpass both regions by 2013 with 245 million visitors, driven by the growing popularity of local Chinese portals Sohu and Baidu.

Dominique Bonte
ABI Research
Practice Director

"In the US, the protracted battle between Google Maps and MapQuest has finally been won by Google surpassing its competitor in terms of visits for the first time in April 2009," says ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte.

"The unique Google Street View feature, the availability of Google Maps for mobile on the iPhone including the recently launched crowd-sourced traffic information, and geo-enabled location toolbars have all been deciding factors."

At the same time, navigation vendors TomTom and Nokia continue to integrate their online mapping portals into their mobile offerings. The TomTom route planner features real-time traffic information for immediate departures or historic speed information for future trips to find the best route.

The report also found that Nokia is increasingly promoting its Ovi Maps as a differentiator and that NAVTEQ has launched its own mapping portal with a suite of features.