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Tag: garmin

  • iSuppli: Does Google’s PND App Signal the Swan Song of Dedicated Devices?

    For European Portable Navigation Device (PND) manufacturer TomTom and U.S.-based Garmin, Oct. 29, 2009 will indeed be remembered as the day everything changed.

    “Google’s announcement that it plans to launch turn-by-turn navigation on the Android platform would be enough of a headache in itself, but giving it away for free? Sound the alarm!,” says Richard Robinson, iSuppli analyst.

    There has to be some sympathy for PND and navigation device vendors that have spent the last year redefining their businesses in the light of the economic shock that crunched the world economy beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008.

    “But clearly, the announcement from Google is a bit like arriving at work one day to find one of the biggest brands in the world has moved in next door, and is offering a version of your product to consumers—for free,” Robinson says.

    According to him, what is concerning is that TomTom and other EU-based navigation providers are heavily dependant on the success of their hardware and software products, while for Google, this product will represent yet another very small cog in a much more complex machine that is being built to increase the footfall to their paid advertising.

    “Ironically – he continues – the hang over that awaits existing navigation providers is a slice of history repeating itself. Back in 2004, when TomTom released the first PND into the European market, heads were bowed; particularly in the boardrooms of the Japanese electronics manufacturers that dominated the in-dash navigation market.”

    He claims Japanese Tier-1 companies such as Alpine, Panasonic and Pioneer, as well as Harman Becker in Europe, were simply not able to counter the threat from the much cheaper and more flexible portable device sector that was taking hold in Europe. “While the rest of the world looked on, these new kids on the block cleaned up during the next two to three years, with triple-digit growth the norm for all PND suppliers.”

    “So here we are again, but this time the game has changed for good. Clearly, the take-it-or-leave-it nature of free application downloads will do nothing to boost the image of navigation as a smart product. So it’s no surprise that both TomTom and Garmin’s shares have been badly hit since the announcement on October 28th,” Robinson adds.

    iSuppli analyst thinks both companies during 2009 have indeed staged good recoveries in their fortunes—and share prices—but this is move by Google such a disrupter, that it is difficult to see how these device vendors can add real value in the face of the launch of a free app. “No doubt the initial experience will be less rich compared to a dedicated device, but this will change. And it’s not as though Google will be overloaded with complaints about a free app”.

    According to Robinson, the question now is: Will the PND platform become a footnote in history—a one-hit-wonder?

    “Clearly the PND vendors would like us to think there is more in the locker, but it’s difficult to see the next steps for this dedicated device, particularly in the maturing markets of Europe and the United States,” he concludes.

  • Sony Ericsson Among 14 Newbies To Open Handset Alliance


    It looks like 2009 could be an interesting year for Android following the announcement by the Open Handset Alliance that it has 14 new members.

    Topping the list of newcomers most likely to offer a handset to rival Google’s HTC-built G1 is Sony Ericsson.

    The list also includes ASUS and navigation systems manufacturer Garmin.

    ASUS has already announced its intention to build a Google smartphone and there has been much speculation about Garmin’s efforts to produce a phone.

    Sony Ericsson has so far used the Windows Mobile – most notably for its recent Xperia handset – and Symbian platforms.

    Now it is promising "consumer focused multimedia handsets" that draw on the successes of the Walkman and Cyber-shot sub-brands.

    Based on that its likely that Android-based Walkman and Cyber-shot handsets are in the offing.

    The Alliance said that new members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of
    Android-based devices.

    The full list of new members is: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUS, Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin, Huawei Technologies, Omron Software, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba and Vodafone.

  • Will Smartphones Be The Death of PNDs?

    With the market for personal navigation devices (PNDs) getting tougher and many smartphones now equipped with GPS, what does the future hold for the likes of TomTom and Garmin?


    Smartphone.biz-news.com asked Chris Jones, VP and principal analyst with Canalys, what direction mobile navigation was taking.

    Blackberry makers RIM recently predicted that GPS navigation solutions on smartphones meant death for sat-nav devices.

    The argument was that there is no need for specific devices for navigation when your mobile can do it for you.

    This received further credence from research by Strategy Analytics showing mobile navigation to be the primary service for which consumers in the US and Western Europe would be willing to pay a relatively high fee per month compared to other mobile services.

    With third quarter results out from both TomTom and Garmin this week – and forecasts being downgraded – the future is looking far from rosy.

    Chris Jones, VP and principal analyst with Canalys, said despite continued growth the PND market was tough and profitability was being squeezed as margins became increasingly tight.

    Both TomTom and Garmin are expected to benefit from aggressive price promotions to hold – and even increase – their market share at the expense of smaller competitors.

    But he said the trend was towards more sales at the lower end of the market than was the case 12 months ago.

    Chris Jones, VP and principal analyst, Canalys

    This was going to force down margins as big volume sales slipped to lower tier devices.

    As well as reducing profitability, Jones said the downside to this was that consumer perception becomes accustomed to GPS prices being lower.

    Buyers then become unwilling to pay extra for higher end products.

    "The big threat is to the margins and profitability of the PND market," he said. "Some vendors have exited the market and we will see others leave in the future."

    Smartphones Challenge PNDs

    To add to the PND industry’s woes there was increasing availability of navigation solutions on smartphones and mobile phones.

    Apple and Nokia have both done much to promote navigation services, with the Finnish giant leading the charge in Europe.

    Nokia expects to sell an estimated 35 million GPS smartphones this year, all equipped with maps and the upgrade option of navigation.

    Jones said the challenge for Nokia was to increase the activation rate.

    "Nokia has the ability to try and accelerate these rates by making it easier to do," he said. "Prices will come down and the free periods offered will lengthen."

    Hope Remains For PNDs

    However, Jones said despite the rise of smartphone navigation options, PNDs still had a future.

    He believes form is still likely to favor PND’s as the navigation device of choice in cars.

    "With smartphones you are looking at a small screen, you can’t touch the device, in many cases there’s no touchscreen or voice activation," he said. "The user interface is not ideal when you are driving.

    "The PND is better in the car but the smartphone is one device that is always with you."

    Work To Be Done With Smartphones

    Out of the car, Jones said more had to be done to inform users about when best to use GPS on smartphones.

    He said there wasn’t any great additional cost to add the technology but it had to be well implemented.

    "People need to understand when GPS will work and where they are not likely to get a fix," he said. "I think that has a lot to do with education and integrating technology into handsets – more sensitive GPS devices that work deeper indoors because invariably the fix is too long."

    Taking five minutes to get a fix – as was the case with some handsets – would do nothing to endear consumers to the technology.

    "It’s not good enough to just put GPS in a handset," he said. "It has to work well in small spaces, with the components that are in there."

    Jones said he expected all smartphones to come with GPS within three years and it would also begin to appear in more lower spec cell phones.

    Whether this, and the continued evolution of smartphone technology, will signal the death of PNDs remains to be seen.

    Please let us know your comments on where the mobile navigation market is going.

  • Garmin delays smartphone launch

    The GPS maker Garmin has delayed plans to launch its Nuvifone smartphone in the fourth quarter of 2008 until the first half of 2009.
    Obstacles in dealing with the various individual needs of each cell phone carrier were cited as the reason for the delay.

    Shortly before announcing its decision on the Nuvifon, Garmin posted weak second-quarter results and slashed its outlook for 2008.
    The company has been hurt by slower growth in the personal navigation device (PND) market.
    It results and the delayed launch of its smartphone sent its shares down more than 22 per cent.
    The biggest US maker of navigation devices said the PND market, which it dominates with Dutch rival TomTom, has not been growing as fast as expected.
    It said consumers were being more cost-conscious.

    The outlook cut follows a difficult year for Garmin, as macroeconomic difficulties, competition and several new entrants have affected its prices and margins.
    The stock has lost 70 per cent of its value since last October.
    Garmin has not yet disclosed pricing and carrier details for the Nuvifone, which will compete against Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Pearl 8110, Nokia’s N95 and N82 multimedia phones and Apple’s iPhone.