Garmin and TomTom cling to profits, hope

As everyone knows, Garmin and TomTom have their backs against the ropes in a fight to remain relevant in an age of free GPS turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones (thanks Google and Nokia). While dedicated personal navigators are almost always superior to their converged competition, the gap has certainly narrowed such that it’s become difficult to justify another device when an increasing number of people already carry a fine navigation device in their pockets. But that’s just gut instinct talking, where’s the hard evidence? Certainly not speculative stock prices. A good place to start is in forward-looking financial statements like the one Garmin, the leading navigation device maker in the US, just issued. Gamin says that it expects competition to cause prices to decline by about 10% in the personal navigation device (PND) industry putting pressure on margins, and thus profits, in 2010. It also see flat or slightly declining revenue over the same period. Fortunately for Garmin, it has a diversified product offering that includes the Nuvifone. However, so far Garmin admits to being disappointed by sales of the handset that “won” our Editor’s Choice award for Worst Gadget of the Year.

Things aren’t all doom and gloom, though. Garmin has a pair of Nuvifones in the chute including the Android-powered A50. And its Q4 results of $1.43 per share easily beat analyst expectations of 95 cents a share. Even TomTom surprised many last week with a 1% increase in Q4 revenue and net profit of €75 million compared to a €989 million loss a year ago. So there’s some hope left for the dedicated PND market… but not much.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Garmin and TomTom cling to profits, hope originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 gets handled, reviewed in the wilds of Russia

We just heard about Garmin-Asus’ WinMo 6.5.3-packin’ M10 yesterday, and already the handset has been broken out for a photo shoot and hands-on review in Russia. The design itself isn’t anything otherworldly, but we have to say — we’re kind of digging the user interface. Granted, we’ve a soft spot in our hearts for Garmin’s nuvi line of PNDs, so anything remotely familiar gets a big thumbs-up ’round these parts. At any rate, critics noted that the phone was a pleasant mix of WinMo and nuvi, which is something that really sets it apart from other Windows Mobile-based offerings. There’s nary a mention of exactly how awesome this thing would be with Windows Mobile 7, but if you’re in no hurry to ponder the next big thing, give that source link a look.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 gets handled, reviewed in the wilds of Russia originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 offers Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with an obsession for navigation

Garmin-Asus phones, they’re like buses aren’t they — you wait for ages to get one, then two come along at the same time. Seeking to sate as many mobile OS appetites as possible, the partner company has quickly followed up its A50 Android handset with this here M10, sporting Microsoft’s latest Windows Mobile build. As only the second WinMo 6.5.3 device around, the M10 is as up to date as you can get on the software front, though earlier word of a slightly dated 600MHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 CPU will douse some enthusiasm on the hardware side. Then again, Garmin-Asus do furnish you with 512MB of both RAM and ROM and a decent 4GB of integrated storage, so it’s not like this is going to be a slouch or anything, and the 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen should also do a nice job of displaying the built-in turn-by-turn navigation. Location awareness is said to be ingrained in everything the phone does, with navigation functions attached to the calendar, web browser, messaging and email clients. Launch is slated for the first half of 2010, and you can quite naturally expect us to get all up close and personal with this handset at MWC next week.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 offers Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with an obsession for navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 runs Android, knows where you are turn-by-turn

The long rumored Nuvifone jump to Android is here just as we get set to kick off Mobile World Congress next week. Garmin and ASUS claim that the A50 brings “more location technology than any other smartphone” with a plethora of location-aware apps making use of a highly sensitive (though unnamed) GPS receiver. Spec-wise, the A50 packs a 3.5-inch HVGA (that’s 480×320 pixels, presumably) capacitive touchscreen with custom, finger-friendly UI, 4GB of internal storage with microSD expansion, and accelerometer for the usual portrait to landscape mode flip. The A50 uses satellite, network-based, and terrestrial sources to quickly zero in on your location and comes pre-loaded with Garmin turn-by-turn navigation, lane assist with junction view, and maps — no need to download them over the network (and risk data dead spots), eh Google. In fact, it’s ready for in-vehicle (ships with car mount and vehicle power cable) or pedestrian navigation out of the box. The A50 also brings on-device sync with Microsoft Exchange server and includes all the usual Google mobile services like search by voice, Maps with Street View, Gmail, YouTube, and Android Market. Rounding things out are a multitouch WebKit-based browser and 3 megapixel autofocus camera that automatically geo-tags your snaps. The A50 will launch in Europe in the first half of 2010 though pricing has not been announced. We’re still digging for more specs but will definitely be back with a detailed hands-on from Barcelona next week.

Update: We have an insider telling us that the device runs Android 1.6 (something we’ve seen before) and uses Qualcomm’s gpsOne platform for SatNav. Makes sense, but we won’t be able to confirm until we meet with Garmin-Asus next week at MWC.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 runs Android, knows where you are turn-by-turn originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 emerges on Taiwanese pre-order page

It was only yesterday that we heard of this WinMo 6.5.3 beastie, and already Taiwanese ladies and gents can sign up to own one, pending a February 6 delivery. The new pre-order page confirms our earlier indications of a 3.5-inch WVGA display and 5 megapixel camera, while adding the knowledge of 512MB of both RAM and ROM, plus MicroSD storage expandability. A relatively low end Qualcomm MSM 7227 600MHz CPU drives the show here, and we’re told a spare battery (1,500mAh by default) or a car holder for navigation also come as part of the 13,900 TWD ($435) package. So, are you excited or what?

Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 emerges on Taiwanese pre-order page originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus taking wraps off first Android gear, M10 WinMo phone at MWC

It might be happening a little later than they’d originally hoped, but Garmin — through its partnership in Garmin-Asus — should finally be unveiling some Android-based phones pretty shortly in an effort to kickstart the firm’s weak showing thus far in the dog-eat-dog handset world. The VP of the mobile device business over at ASUS is talking up the joint venture’s 2010 plans this week, saying that it’ll show its first Android product at MWC next month with the hope of striking a pretty even balance between Android and WinMo shipments in the long term (no mention of the G60’s proprietary platform, interestingly). What’s more, they want to push a solid million units this year, and they’ll be looking to reach that goal by building somewhere between 4 and 5 models — at least one of which is likely destined for T-Mobile USA, as far as we can tell. Android isn’t the only thing on the docket for these guys at MWC, though: they’ll also be showing the M10, allegedly running Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with a 3.5-inch resistive display and a 5 megapixel camera with a retail price a little over $400. Finally, there are plans in the works for a TD-SCDMA phone for China Mobile that’d be available toward the tail end of the year — so all things considered, these guys might finally have a shot of making a dent in the market for once.

Garmin-Asus taking wraps off first Android gear, M10 WinMo phone at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60?

The nüvifone G60 took nearly two years to go from introduction to on sale at AT&T, and just weeks after its introduction, it has been nearly completely forgotten. Smartphones like Motorola’s Droid and HTC’s Droid Eris have already snagged the spotlight, and of course, that $300 (on contract) price tag that it debuted with didn’t help attract any eyes, either. That said, we’re sure at least a few (couple?) of you bit the bullet post-price drop, and now we’re overly anxious to hear how you feel about it. After two years, does this thing really live up to the expectations? Are you satisfied with the navigation capabilities? Is the lackluster battery life worrying you yet? Should Garmin-Asus even bother with a second-gen device? Sound off in comments below!

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-ASUS nuvifone M20 makes jump to Windows Mobile 6.5

Two years ago, the idea of a Garmin-developed smartphone running the latest Windows Mobile operating system was enough to generate spasms of anticipation across the internets. Oh how things have changed. Today the Garmin-ASUS team has announced a Windows Mobile 6.5 update for M20 owners currently stuck at 6.1. It’s also expanding the M20 theater of pain to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech, Turkey, and other markets by the end of 2009 — note the omission of North American and Western European countries. Fine by us, we’re perfectly happy to wait for the revamped Android handset running Google’s turn-by-turn Navigator… oh, wait.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Garmin-ASUS nuvifone M20 makes jump to Windows Mobile 6.5 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin nuvifone G60 going for $100 on Amazon

You know what’s insulting? Charging $300 for a nuvifone G60 in the year 2009. It’s cool, though — Amazon, as usual, is our knight in shining armor by swooping in with a $99.99 deal on contract, making the idea of a one-trick pony nav phone with a closed platform and hellish browser just a little more palatable. A big, fat caveat emptor still applies, of course.

Filed under: Cellphones

Garmin nuvifone G60 going for $100 on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 reviewed at Engadget Mobile!

You’ve been waiting for this day for nearly two years, but before you go and drop three Benjamins on a phone that you’re probably assuming is way out of date by now, you should probably hit up Engadget Mobile’s review of the thing. It’s the nüvifone G60, and the full, unadulterated critique is waiting for you right here. Have a gander, won’t you?

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 reviewed at Engadget Mobile! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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