garmin-asus
Latest
Garmin officially exits the smartphone business, reports mixed Q3 earnings
Based on our experience with relationships, we've learned that it takes two to tango. It also takes two to produce co-branded wares, and with ASUS already withdrawing (respectfully, of course) from the ill-fated Garmin-Asus smartphone partnership, this here is more a formality than anything else. That said, those worried that Garmin would try to loop in another handset maker in order to manufacturer yet another Garminfone that 3.4 people would consider buying can rest easy. In the company's Q3 2010 earnings, it confirmed that it is "winding down" its smartphone efforts, and rather than continuing on a path to doom and destruction, it'll be ramping up marketing efforts in the aviation and maritime sectors. As for quarterly results, the company did see net income rise to $279.5 million (up from $215.1 million a year ago), but shares fell as it issued a depressing outlook for Q4 amid weakening demand for standalone PNDs. Hate to say we told you so...
Garmin navigation to be an Android exclusive for ASUS, headed to Apple and RIM app stores
Details of the Garmin-ASUS breakup are slowly being revealed. We now know that ASUS has obtained exclusive rights to license Garmin navigation and location based services on its Android smartphones with a Garmin navigation trademark slapped on the back -- other Android handset makers need not apply. ASUS will go back to selling its own-brand handsets in January, including models equipped with 3D for gaming and connectivity with ASUS ebook readers and tablets, according to DigiTimes. For its part, Garmin's official blog says that it will be expanding its mobile application handset development by offering navigation and other applications through "certain consumer application stores." According to DigiTimes, that means Apple's iTunes App Store and RIM's App World. So, in other words, Garmin and ASUS are still friends but are now free to date anyone they want, you know, except for anyone in eachother's families. How mature.
ASUS officially walks away from Garmin-Asus partnership
Chalk another up to the rumor mill. Just as we'd heard, the Garmin-Asus partnership will soon be no more. After a few arguably valiant attempts to break into the smartphone market, it seems as if ASUS is walking away in hopes of finding greener grass elsewhere. According to Reuters, an unnamed ASUS official has confirmed that it would be "ending its mobile phone cooperation agreement with Garmin." We're expecting the rest of the breakup details to roll tomorrow, but honestly, you'd turn the other cheek and move on if you were classy. But we both know that's not happening, right?
Garmin-ASUS collaboration said to be ending in January
It was hinted at back in September, now the Chinese-language Economic Daily is reporting that the Garmin-ASUS joint venture will end in January after the two-year deal expires. We've heard this from our own sources as well. At that point, Asus will return to flooding the market with indistinguishable product iterations and Garmin will go back to watching GPS-enabled smartphones (and now tablets) eat away at the dedicated personal navigation device market. ASUS is expected to continue making GPS-enabled smartphones under the ASUS brand with Garmin providing navigation and mapping software.
Garmin: 'we'll have to make decisions within the next couple of quarters' on future of phone business
It doesn't take a rocket scientist -- er, make that a smartphone industry analyst -- to figure out that Garmin's been underperforming in the handset game since it tied up with ASUS early last year; notable missteps have included lackluster hardware, a hopelessly delayed first model, banking fortunes on WinMo in its twilight years, and a general failure to capture the kinds of blockbuster carrier deals that can prop up your bottom line. Indeed, it wasn't long ago that the company went public with the fact that Garmin-Asus' financials weren't where they needed to be, but things are getting a little more serious now: CFO Kevin Rauckman has mentioned in an interview that they'll need to decide "within the next couple of quarters whether [they] continue to invest or whether [they] pull back." Of course, "pull back" is probably code for "cut and run," since there's really no good way to half-ass your smartphone presence and still earn customer loyalty and turn a profit. Looking at Garmin's bigger picture, it still doesn't really need to make smartphones to survive -- the PND market remains healthy, and the company has a huge presence in the marine and aviation industries -- but we're sure they'd like a piece of the cellular pie. Touch nut to crack, isn't it, guys?
Garmin: revenue from phone segment in Q2 was 'below our plan'
Garmin's second-quarter results hit the wires this week, and overall, the company seems to be pretty healthy; its automotive, outdoor, aviation, and marine businesses all posted growth, average selling price was up, and shipped units grew a solid 8 percent year-over-year. If you read a little deeper, though, there's one segment that undelivered -- smartphones, a joint venture the company shares with ASUS -- which contributed $27 million in revenue in the last three months. $27 million in profit would be business as usual for a division of a company of Garmin's size, but $27 million in revenue is a drop in the bucket -- and sure enough, the earnings report goes on to say that the performance was "below [its] plan." They go on to say that they're "working aggressively with T‐Mobile and other carriers around the globe on the appropriate positioning and pricing of our devices in the competitive smartphone space," interesting wording considering our shock at the Garminfone's initial pricing (and the fact that it's more recently come down to $130 for new subscribers). In Garmin's own words, the smartphone business is competitive to say the least -- you can't waltz in with an overpriced first-gen product and expect the world -- so it'll be interesting to see how they adjust going forward.
T-Mobile Garminfone gets a much-needed price drop to $129
When we got a chance to let the Garmin-Asus Garminfone send us around town for a review, we found it to be about the best nav-focused smartphone on the market. But, its $200 price made it a tough sell compared to many far more powerful alternatives. Now it's finally dropping to a somewhat more easily palatable asking price of $129.99 with the usual contract restrictions. That's a great price for a great phone with great navigation, and while we're still guessing that users here will not get invited out for FroYo anytime in the future, at this price you can afford to buy yourself some real ice cream.
Garmin-Asus planning another nuvifone for AT&T?
It takes a little bit of creative dot-connecting to follow our thought process here -- but we think we're onto something, so do us a favor and lend us an ear for a second. Garmin-Asus, of course, kicked off its North American efforts with the forgettable nuvifone G60 on AT&T, then just followed it up with the Garminfone on T-Mobile. We'd speculated previously that AT&T might have some sort of US exclusive on the use of the "nuvifone" name, considering that the company strays from that branding in no other market in the world. Additionally, all of ASUS' phones are happening through the Garmin-Asus joint venture right now, so when we found this E600 "PDA Phone" in the FCC this week, we knew right away that we were likely looking at a new nuvifone model. Looking at the filings, we see that it's rocking 850 / 1900MHz 3G, which leads us to believe that AT&T might be ready for round two -- either that, or one of our GSM friends north of the border is looking to deploy it -- but any way you slice it, that G60 is looking pretty long in the tooth.
T-Mobile Garminfone now on sale, price still boggles the mind
As promised, T-Mobile has brought the Garminfone to retail today for $199 after $50 rebate on a new two-year contract, calling into question the viability of selling a nav-centric Android device with an HVGA display, 3 megapixel camera, and no 3.5mm headphone jack for $250 out of pocket in the store. We suppose the awesome car dock will attract some, but the myTouch 3G Slide certainly seems like the better option for less money -- maybe this would work at $99 or $149, we suppose. Not that we're impatient or anything, but where's our Froyo update, Garmin?
T-Mobile Garminfone confirmed for June 9 launch, still a whopping $200 after rebate
Alright, you can go ahead and book up your June 2nd with other plans, because we've just heard straight from T-Mobile that the Garminfone has been confirmed for a June 9 launch "at select T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, and online" for the same $199.99 after $50 mail-in rebate on contract that we'd already known. We'll admit, we'd secretly been hoping that T-Mobile would've wowed everyone and dropped the launch price by $50 or $100 considering its midrange specs and the fact that you'll have to drop an astounding $250 in-store to take the thing home, but it's not to be; in a few months, perhaps?
T-Mobile Garminfone looks confirmed for June 2 release
It seems that your wait for Garmin's first T-Mobile-bound phone -- the aptly-named Garminfone -- might be a short one. We'd already known it was coming in June for $200, but this shot here makes it sounds like June 2 is the date you should start lining up in front of the store at four in the morning (we kid, we kid) for your shot at arguably the best turn-by-turn experience available on an Android phone today. You can get over the lack of Froyo and a 3.5mm headphone jack, right? [Thanks, 0mie]
Garmin-Asus Garminfone review
The holy matrimony between smartphone and personal navigation device just keeps getting stronger, scorning dedicated GPS units like forgotten flings and leaving navigation-free handsets wandering lost and alone. Garmin-Asus has been flirting with the perfect bond with its Nuvifone series for some time now, but rather tragically from a branding perspective its strongest attempt yet comes without the nuvi moniker. It's the T-Mobile Garminfone, and its Android underpinnings go a long way toward making the best mix of PND and smartphone to date. %Gallery-93159%
T-Mobile shipping the Garminfone for $199 in June, we go hands-on
T-Mobile and Garmin-Asus have just gotten down to the nitty gritty with us on the long anticipated Garminfone: the phone ships in June for $199 on a two year contract. Just to show they're serious, they also let us play with the phone, which is running a speedy, heavily custom Garmin UI on top of Android. Check out some hands-on shots below, and stand by for more coverage of the handset as we get to cuddle up with it during some long, geotagged walks on the beach. %Gallery-92812%
T-Mobile Garminfone finds itself in the camera's eye (update: video)
Where to, Garminfone? The front of a gracious tipster's camera, that's where. Well, looks like someone's enjoying the navigation smartphone on T-Mobile bands, even if it's not yet you. More pics below! Update: And now we've got video, too, via TmoNews and after the break! %Gallery-92145% [Thanks, anonymous!]
Garmin-Asus A10 brings pedestrian-optimized GPS to European and Asian Android lovers
You ain't nobody if you don't have an Android handset (or two) these days, and Garmin-Asus has just added the A10 to its own stable of devices. It's a pretty humble 3.2-inch HVGA communicator, but it has a healthy 1,500mAh battery, a multitouch-friendly WebKit browser, and an autofocusing 5 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging. Coming with preloaded Garmin Navigation maps and software, the A10 eliminates the need for a web connection when looking up your local topography, and similarly retains turn-by-turn voice instructions while used offline. It's not altogether clear what the pedestrian optimizations are, aside from the public transport-aware cityXplorer maps, but in-car navigation is also obviously fully supported and encouraged. We're told to expect the A10 in mid-2010 for European and Asia-Pacific markets. Full PR after the break.
T-Mobile Garminfone official: Android, 3 megapixels, zero nuvi branding
We've known that Garmin-Asus has been working on a phone with T-Mobile's 3G bands for a while, but now we finally know what it is: meet the Garminfone. Yes, just "Garminfone" -- you won't find an ounce of nuvifone branding here, despite the fact that the device is a dead ringer for the nuvifone A50 announced back at MWC, which leads us to believe that AT&T might hold the exclusive American rights to market the name with its own G60. Whatever the case may be, you can expect a 3 megapixel autofocus cam, microSD expansion up to 32GB, WiFi, and full HSPA alongside Garmin's own flavor of Android (currently based on 1.6, we believe) that emphasizes its nuvi-esque navigation capabilities on a 3.5-inch HVGA display. As you might expect, it'll come bundled with a charging dash / windshield mount (notice those gold connectors on the side of the phone) when it launches "later this Spring." Follow the break for the full press release. %Gallery-91279%
Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 and A50 hands-on
So, we had a few precious moments to play around with Garmin-Asus' latest Nuvifones here in lovely Barcelona today -- the M10 and A50, running on Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and Android 1.6, respectively -- and even better, we did so in the back of a black Mercedes expressly purposed for testing out the integrated turn-by-turn capabilities. Follow the break for our quick impressions! %Gallery-85455% %Gallery-85454%
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 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 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 480x320 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.
