DigiTimes is often cryptic, but I'm not sure what to make of this line in today's report on Mio's parent company entitled "Mitac falling short of 2008 GPS PND shipments target; to enter netbook OEM business:"
While acknowledging the shrinking auto markets in the US and Europe, Mitac said it will continue to promote sales of its GPS PNDs in emerging markets, especially in China, as auto sales in those market still remain relatively strong.
Mitac is a long time notebook manufacturer, and while they are betting on the white-hot netbook market, it's unclear if this means less emphasis on GPS. But even if they aren't deserting the U.S. and European PND markets, Mio certainly looks like a rudderless ship.
Over the past year we've seen them go from their old operating system / interface to Navman's to an announcement that they will be using Microsoft's NavReady next year. We also saw them announce a connected GPS, and then say the U.S. wasn't ready for it. Oh, and there's that 3.5G handset.
I'm not sure what to make of today's report, but I do know that until they settle on a direction, Mio is likely to remain a second or even third-tier player in the U.S. market.
Of course, Mitac's recent acquisition of Magellan's Consumer GPS Division only makes that statement that much more confusing.
So ironic that a company making GPS devices can't seem to find their way in the world.
Posted by: Travis Tubbs | December 23, 2008 at 02:01 PM