Garmin on Tuesday confirmed earlier rumors and bought Navigon. The takeover of the German GPS designer is meant both to boost Garmin's core in-car navigation but is also aimed at bolstering Garmin's position in smartphones. Navigon's stronger-selling Android and iPhone apps would help push the company forward, Garmin said.
Garmin may be buying Navigon as a defense against the pressure on GPS devices from smartphones, sources divulged in a German leak on Friday. The deal would show Garmin taking advantage of Navigon's battering in the mapping business to pay something in the tens of millions of euros, considerably lower than what it would have been worth a few years ago. A deal could be completed as soon as June, the Financial Times Deutschland informants said.
Garmin while discussing its summer fiscal results today confirmed that it was quitting the smartphone business. The company decided after considering its position that it "cannot reach the scale necessary" to compete with others in smartphones and was shutting down its efforts. Staff involved in research and development would be moved to the in-car GPS team and other areas where the company was still growing, it said.
ASUS and Garmin today formally declared the end of their phone partnership but left room for collaboration and for expansion of Garmin's smartphone efforts to the iPhone and other platforms. Under the new deal, ASUS will make phones by itself in the future but will use Garmin GPS apps on its Android phones for "a couple of years," according to ASUS' mobile lead Benson Lin. Garmin will continue to sell and support devices like the Garminfone and nuvifone G60, but it won't launch new models.
Garmin CFO Kevin Rauckman in an interview has said the company might back out of its smartphone business within the next half a year if it can't be turned around. He acknowledged to Reuters that devices like the Garminfone and nuvifone lines had undersold in the market and that the GPS maker would 'have to make decisions" as to whether it would redouble its efforts or back out. The company managed just $27 million in revenue from smartphones during the spring, far lower than competitors; Apple produced $5.33 billion from its iPhone business in the same period.
ASUS earlier today denied claims the Garminfone was selling poorly at T-Mobile. The Taiwan firm said shipments were as planned and that it had "positive demand," but didn't provide numbers. Morgan Keegan analyst Yair Reiner had estimated from visits to 50 T-Mobile stores that ASUS and Garmin shipped just 20,000 Garminfones since they went on sale in early June.
Garmin has quietly introduced the nüvi 295W, a new navigation device featuring Wi-Fi connectivity. The overall form factor gives the 295W an appearance similar to a smartphone, while the feature set is similar to a nüvifone without the voice communication capabilities. The device even automatically reorients the 3.5-inch touchscreen for portrait or landscape use.
Garmin has finally disclosed launch details for its Garminfone handset, which will ship next month on T-Mobile for $199. The device is based on the company's nuvifone A50, however the nuvifone's feature phone OS has been placed with Android.
Garmin-ASUS today launched its third Android phone in less than a year. Unlike the driving-oriented Garminfone and its A50 sibling, the A10 puts its focus on walking directions and has custom GPS software tailored to on-foot GPS. A newer version of Android is also probable as the phone supports multi-touch in the web browser.
Garmin today unveiled its first true American smartphone today by launching the Garminfone with T-Mobile. The adaptation of the nuvifone A50 runs Android rather than the original nuvifone's feature phone OS and gives it the full Google OS while layering on Garmin's traditional GPS navigation interface. Like a nuvi, it provides full spoken turn-by-turn directions and comes with a dash mount.
Sources say the recently revealed Garmin-ASUS nuvifone A50 will be coming to the US in May. This is the first indication that the company would deliver an Android phone for the US in early 2010 since statements made at last year's Computex show. The company has been more open about its plan to ship the A50 to European markets in the first half of this year.
Garmin-ASUS today formally unveiled its two answers to the lackluster uptake of the original nuvifone. The nuvifone A50 is the partnership's first Android phone and combines both Garmin's nuvi-based GPS navigation with a more modern operating system than either the Linux-based G60 original or Windows Mobile devices. It supports newer Android features like multi-touch in the web browser and voice recognition for search.
Garmin-ASUS on Friday released the Windows 6.5.3-powered M10 smartphone in Taiwan. The company's third GPS phone, it's powered by a Qualcomm 600MHz chip and is the first to use Windows Mobile 6.5.3, although it uses a resistive touchscreen rather than the capacitive that 6.5.3 enables. Internet Explorer is also said to be smoother in transitions in touch gestures and is quicker overall.
A Thursday report of Garmin ASUS launching its nuvifone M10 Android smartphone has been all but confirmed, as the device is now up for pre-order in Taiwan. The Android-powered device is otherwise expected to be displayed at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona in mid-February, while Taiwanese customers are expected to receive their orders starting on February 6th.
The Garmin-ASUS alliance will unveil its first Android-powered handset at the upcoming Mobile World Congress trade show, ASUS handheld division president Benson Lin said. According to a Thursday Digitimes report, the two also plan on releasing as many as five other smartphones this year that run on Windows Mobile or Android this year. This Android phone will share booth space at MWC with a new Windows Mobile 6.5.3 handset, the M10.
Garmin and Asus have announced that the nüvifone M20 has been updated with Microsoft's latest Windows Mobile 6.5 software. The software provides a revamped home screen, with touch-optimized icons and access to the variety of apps available through the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Users can also take advantage of Facebook and Microsot's My Phone service.
More than a year and a half after it was originally announced, Garmin's nüvifone G60 has received an official launch in the US through AT&T. The GPS-centric phone originally meant to compete with the pre-GPS iPhone centers on a deep navigation app based directly on Garmin's dedicated nüvi in-car units with some accommodations for mobile users: it not only works as a pedestrian device but will remember when it was last attached to its car mount, helping owners remember where they parked. It shares the same-strength GPS receiver and should provide a quicker lock than most smartphones.
Through a leaked product list, AT&T has revealed information on several upcoming phone releases. Included in these is the BlackBerry 9700, believed to be the Onyx; the latter has been described as a Curve 8900 with restored 3G broadband. Also mentioned is the nuvifone G60, Garmin's long-delayed smartphone, which concentrates on GPS navigation while still providing functions like web browsing.
Portable GPS device maker Garmin recently said its much-delayed nuvifone line, which was first announced in January of 2008, will be launched in the USA before year's end. A full advertising campaign will accompany the device. In a recent conference call with analysts, Garmin revealed the device is undergoing the final stages of testing with US carriers, though stopped short of naming the carriers.
Garmin today offically threw itself into competition in the touchscreen phone arena by shipping the nüvifone G60 to its first market. The handset is now due to reach Taiwan on July 27th and should reach both Malaysia and Singapore by the end of August. The GPS-centered device is also now deemed "on schedule" for both European and North American launches before the end of the year, though carrier options (if any) and prices have yet to be detailed.
Garmin-ASUS at CommunicAsia on Tuesday said that its decision to launch Android phones next year will mark the end of the partnership's custom Linux variant. The nuvifone G60 will now be both the first and last phone to run the in-house OS and all future nuvifones will either use Android or else, like the M20, Windows Mobile. Reasons for the switch haven't been explained to CNET but likely center on both the true smartphone-level feature set as well as the reduced work of using an existing OS rather than developing from scratch.
Dutch shares of native GPS device maker TomTom spiked on Friday morning after speculation rose that Apple is mulling getting a stake in the company. Following Apple's WWDC presentation Monday that saw TomTom introduce an iPhone GPS app and a matching car kit, some investors claim to have heard that TomTom being singled out and its tight integration of software with the iPhone are advance evidence of Apple wanting to invest a minority amount in the European firm. The rumor is not universal, however, and some openly doubt the likelihood of such a deal.
In spite of warnings of delays, Garmin president Cliff Pemble today at a shareholders' meeting said the company was "getting very close" to launching its nüvifone line on sale in the US through a carrier. The touchscreen GPS phones are now through the second stage of carrier testing and thus not far away from being used. Surprise demand from providers meant the company had little reason to follow original plans and release the phone at full price but unlocked.
Garmin told its investors on Wednesday that it has once again moved back the planned release date of its G60 and other nuvifone smartphones to the second half of the year, and won't, as previously reported, be coming out in June. According to a recent TWICE update, the company is currently taking the phones through the testing phase of the certification process and carriers are very interested in the smartphones. No detailed release date has been given, however.
TomTom may be stepping up its efforts to produce turn-by-turn iPhone GPS through a low-key recruitment effort. A job listing for an iPhone app developer doesn't mention the company but asks for someone to develop navigation software in Amsterdam, the location of TomTom's headquarters. The term would start in May or June and last for at least six months.
Garmin-ASUS' long-delayed nüvifone G60 is now expected to show in June, a direct source claims. Talking to Reuters, the insider says the first LiMo-based (Linux Mobile) phones will ship in June and, by extension, that the G60 will be one of the early models. The GPS-centric handset has been repeatedly delayed since its January 2008 unveiling and has been given a first-half 2009 release timeframe that would support the latest claim.
Electronista at CTIA had a chance to take a closer look at the Garmin-Asus nüvifone M20. The handset offers a smaller form factor than the G60 and looks more like a phone than a GPS navigator. Every dimension has been shrunk, with 17 mm cut from the height and a width reduction of 6 mm. The M20 is described as a phone with GPS functionality, while the G60 is more of a GPS with phone functionality. The company also dropped the Linux operating system for Windows Mobile 6.1.
Mobile partnership Garmin-ASUS on Thursday staked its claim at Mobile World Congress with the nuvifone M20, the second phone in the fledgling GPS navigator phone line. Unlike the G60, the M20 is based on Windows Mobile 6.1 and uses a heavily customized interface to provide turn-by-turn voiced navigation like stand-alone nuvi GPS units. It also uses the positioning for social networking through Ciao! and geotagging photos from the 3-megapixel camera.
Garmin has posted screen captures for its upcoming GPS-based cellphone, the nuvifone, providing hints as to the handset's features and capabilities. The screenshots come ahead of an expected official look at the device at next week's CES expo in Las Vegas. The nuvifone features a 3.5-inch touchscreen, the same size as that the screen on Apple's iPhone; the interface also appears to be familiar, with a layout that mimics the iPhone in terms of buttons, icons and window dimensions.
Garmin announced on Monday that it is disputing the sales figures and product rollout schedules published in a DigiTimes report from the same day. In the report, it was said Garmin will ship 18 million GPS units in 2008, citing the company's Asia Pacific marketing director, Tony An, as the source for the information. The story also had Garmin's Android-powered and GPS-enabled nuvifone be released into the Taiwanese market in the second quarter of 2009, with Android-based handsets coming as early as the second half of 2009. Garmin did not dispute that Android-based handsets are indeed in the pipeline.
Garmin Asia Pacific marketing director Tony An today revealed that the company's nuvifone will just be the first device in a series of phones. Where the original touchscreen, GPS-focused phone is now said to be due in the spring, An adds that the firm will develop multiple phones based on Google's Android platform to ship sometime in the second half of 2009. Details of the phones themselves are unavailable but should likely focus heavily on GPS navigation and will be helped by the built-in presence of Google Maps.
Garmin's long-delayed nuvifone, originally expected to ship in summer of this year, may finally be nearing release, documents show. The nuvifone G60 has passed through the FCC, under the moniker of the ASUS Calf; this could indicate that ASUS is responsible for actually building the phone, while Garmin handles aspects of software, direction and branding. Phones approved by the FCC typically ship within a few months, though this is not guaranteed.
The Nuvifone from Garmin is still due for an early 2009 release despite being delayed earlier this year. It will be a carrier-exclusive offering, though the company is not revealing its choice of partner network to the public. As Garmin is traditionally a portable navigation device manufacturer, the Nuvifone will bring many of the company's technologies to its GPS mapping functionality, as well as access to high-speed 3G data networks.
Garmin's long-promised nuvifone won't arrive until 2009, the company said today. Announced in January, the GPS-based smartphone was originally planned for a summer launch but is now targeted for a launch sometime during the first half of 2009. The release is being held up by "carrier specific requirements" that will require changes to the handset, according to the company. Which carriers are involved is unknown, though its particular 3G support makes it a likely candidate for AT&T as well as a number of European providers.
Garmin's highly touted nuvifone may cost $100 more than its Apple rival at AT&T, according to a survey passed along to Engadget. The navigation device maker is gauging customer responses to its price strategy and is currently suggesting that its GPS-enabled cellphone should sell for $500 with a two-year contract, or $100 above the price of a standard iPhone.
