Garmin-Asus Launches New GPS Phones to Navigate Tougher Competition

| Feb 16, 2010 | Mobile Devices | Analysts: Avi Greengart, Meredith Eitt

Click here

Event Summary

February 11, 2010 -- Garmin-Asus announced the Garmin-Asus nüvifone A50, a touchscreen Android-powered smartphone with multiple location technologies and apps, and the M10, a full-touch, all-in-one smartphone powered by the latest version of Windows Mobile. The M10 will be available in Europe and Asia in H1 2010, while the A50 will be available only in Europe. Pricing was announced for neither model.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Negative on Garmin-Asus’ new Android and Windows Mobile navigation-centric smartphones, because free turn-by-turn navigation is becoming a standard offering on many upcoming Android devices and all new Nokia Symbian smartphones. Garmin-Asus has a lone product at a U.S. carrier (the nüvifone G60 at AT&T), but neither offering announced at Mobile World Congress is slated for North America, and Europe is ground zero for Nokia’s Symbian line. Garmin-Asus does take navigation a step further than most by integrating GPS data into nearly every app on the phone, but that is unlikely to be a key purchase driver. If Garmin-Asus had been able to establish the nüvifone a few years ago, things might be different today, but the competitive environment has shifted out of its favor.

• Vendor Importance: Very high to Garmin, which is seeing its core PND market come under attack from converged smartphones, and the nüvifone line is its way to hedge its bets and play “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” The announcement is also of moderate importance to Asus, which retired bland smartphone products of its own to partner with Garmin on the nüvifone line. However, unlike Garmin, navigation is not a significant portion of Asus’ overall revenue mix, as the company has a diverse product mix focused on laptops and netbooks.

• Market Impact: Low on the smartphone market, because GPS phones are not unique now that turn-by-turn navigation is becoming a feature found on many smartphones. It is also worth noting that the market for dedicated PNDs is not disappearing – for starters, dedicated devices can have larger screen sizes than smartphones, which must remain more portable – but with GPS phones proliferating, margins for PNDs are being compressed.

CLIENTS ONLY

Current Perspective

Competitive Strengths and Weaknesses

| Client access - Full report in Mobile Devices | More information

Top