According to a study conducted by ABI Research, GPS-enabled cellphones will touch 240 million units next year and 550 million in the year 2012. The report further claims that these phones will generate revenues worth USD 50 billion next year and will double by 2012.

“The ongoing consolidation in the mobile industry –  including Nokia’s acquisition of NAVTEQ, Broadcom’s acquisition of Global Locate, CSR’s acquisition of NordNav Technologies and Cambridge Positioning Systems, and the tussle between TomTom and Garmin to acquire Tele Atlas – gives a clear indication of the plans and commitment of industry players to address the GPS-enabled handset market,” says Shailendra Pandey, industry analyst for ABI Research.

The report also claims that Original Design Manufacturer’s like Quanta and Inventec are planning to introduce GPS-enabled cellphones. The challenge, however, remains to be prohibitive pricing of cellphones with inbuilt GPS receivers. According to the report, chipset manufacturers now have solutions that will enable them to embed GPS receivers at a lower cost as well as improve the accuracy at the same time.