I believe the key here is what's meant by the term 'PND'. To me it's Personal Navigation Device and interchangeable with Personal Navigation Assistant. If it's taken as Portable Navigation Device i think of a broader market including all handheld/wrist worn sports, hiking, marine and aviation, i.e 'non-fixed' units.

To me a Personal Navigation Device is a nuvi type automotive device, using current Garmin range as an example, anything from basic 42 thru to a 'bell n whistles' 3797 with eye candy bling depending on depth of your pocket. It's going to get you from A to B on-road, but isn't waterproof or capable of effective use on a bike, off-road, on water or in air. A smartphone with a nav app will do the same basic job. Ovi maps for instance don't incur data charges while you use them for navigating and the app's built-in with maps free to dl.

Why would the average 'mug' user want to buy a PND of my definition if he has an in-dash car GPS unit and a decent smartphone?

Even aera 500 series must be getting a bit of a nudge from the great aviation apps now available for iPads whose screen size matches the size of some glass-cockpit screens [but can't match the GC level of integration of other nav aids in a light plane of course]. For screen readability alone iPad poops all over an aera 5x0 4.3" screen.

The outdoor and marine portable units have to be weatherproof of course so the phones and tablets don't really get a look in there, yet anyway.

To me, sad as it is to say, dedicated automotive Personal Navigation Devices will wither away for everyday use. The manufacturers know this and are only milking the final dying gasps of the market. Our nuvis won't be worth anything but curiosity value soon.

I agree most in-dash OEM GPS units are crap and after-market are far better. I also believe that the oem units will improve simply because ppl will start to expect to see the features available on their phone nav app or what's on their son's Kenwood which he's shoehorned into his Mama's hand-me-down Magna/Lada/Pinto. Where this market is headed is anyone's guess really. Satellite radio is exclusively North American as far as i'm aware, i'm surprised that hasn't expanded to elsewhere. A safe bet will be that both the present pnd/pna and car infotainment units will be an absolute joke within 10 years. Maybe in 2024 it will be a wafer thin screen which charges by induction while in car or on a pad, bluetooths to the car speakers and incorporates gps, phone, internet and audio functions. For out-of-car use folds to mobile cell phone size ... who knows, because the technology's here and things are only limited by cost and imagination now. That's what i think will happen, the PND/PNA and Infotainment units and markets will simply merge. Umm.... a folding big-screen computer-tablet with phone and gps ..... cover all bases. I'm off to the US patent Office ..... so long suckers!