April 09, 2007

Garmin and TomTom to make cell phones?

DigiTimes is reporting that Garmin has held talks with Taiwan-based handset maker Compal Communications, speculating that Garmin will enter the cell phone handset market. The article goes on to say, following the introduction of the TomTom GO 715 with a SIM card, that this raised "market speculation that the company (TomTom) eventually may move into the GPS handset segment."

Based in Taiwan, DigiTimes has a good track record, so I'm inclined to take this seriously. Such a move could make sense in many ways, allowing PND manufacturers to go after the cell phone handset market. Just think  what an intuitive Garmin interface for a cell phone might look like -- they have a deep knowledege base to draw upon. And they might make money off patents they could develop, even if the handsets don't sell that well. Traditional PNDs could also use cellular networks to offer connectivity, ala Dash.

Apr 9, 2007 9:53:51 AM | Garmin, The business of GPS, TomTom

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