Published on November 08, 2005

Technology slow to catch on, despite dizzying road network

Global positioning system (GPS) navigational gadgets have been available commercially since the early 90s, but the technology arrived late in Thailand about two years ago.

Nithipat Tansrikiat, owner of Gadgetrend, has been promoting the system with help from Esri, a map provider for Thailand, which mainly uses the Garmin hardware. Another company that provides local maps is Map Point Asia.

“It is only just recently that people in Thailand have learned that a Thai version of the map is available. It makes sense to have a GPS navigational unit in a country like Thailand where roads can be very confusing,” Nithipat said.

The systems most used by people today are part of the fourth generation of GPS that mainly focus on routing. The system can be instructed to display different routes, like the shortest distance between two points or the route that takes the least amount of time.

About 5,000 GPS units are sold in Thailand every year, of which Gadgetrend accounts for 2,000. Nithipat said sales had doubled since last year, but they are still slow.

“GPS navigational systems are still considered a luxury in Thailand. This can be considered very funny because there are people who spend more than Bt100,000 for their audio systems. So why not a mere Bt25,000 to never get lost?” he added.

Most GPS owners are men and 30 per cent of Gadgetrend’s customers are foreigners who find it difficult to navigate here. Most of the products sold are used for on-road navigation.

It also sells GPS units to trekkers, bikers and off-roaders. These systems have less on-road capability but are more durable in rough weather and conditions. They focus mainly on tracking a route taken from a point of origin so that the user can backtrack later.

Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia to commercially sell e-maps. The next step will be to integrate traffic information into the navigational systems’ routing capabilities. This technology, which already exists in countries like the United States and parts of Europe, allows GPS users to avoid traffic congestion and find the fastest path to get from point A to point B. This technology, though, won’t likely be available in Thailand in the next five years.

Most products sold at Gadgetrend, located in the Home Place Building on Soi Thong Lor, are priced at about Bt24,000. Nithipat is mulling adding two new models – the i3 and i2. The i3 is likely to be priced between Bt20,000 and Bt21,000. The price for the i2 has not been released, but it will be cheaper than the i3.

“The i3 and i2 will create a new market, especially for those that would like to use a GPS system but do not want to spend too much on it. I hope that I can make the lives of all Thai road users easier by providing an efficient, yet affordable product.” added Nithipat.

The only commercially available vehicles that can be purchased new and fitted with GPS navigational systems are the Toyota Camry and the Volvo XC90. Both use older generation systems that require remote controls to operate, and not touch-screens, which are considered more user-friendly.

“It makes more sense to buy the vehicle and then buy a C320 which costs Bt32,000, instead of paying a premium of Bt50,000 when buying the vehicle. There is also the advantage of being able to move the unit from one vehicle to another, instead of having it fixed in one,” said Nithipat.

Vijo Varghese

The Nation

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