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Mio says they’re still here

A few days ago I posted about the GPS Business News report that Mio was leaving the U.S. market. Now, this backdated news release has shown up on their website:

“In response to the article published in GPS Business News entitled “Mio closing business in the US” on April 3, 2009, Mio announced that the company will continue the sales in the North American market. Mio will offer products in selected channels and launch new products in May. Mio emphasize that the company will also continue to deliver sleek, easy-to-use portable navigation devices to the market, and also accelerate the development of a variety of innovative GPS-based lifestyle products that extend the user experience well beyond traditional PNDs.”

Mio reportedly leaving U.S. market

GPS Business News is reporting that Mio is leaving the U.S. market. If true it is undoubtedly related to parent company MiTAC’s acquisition of Magellan, though it does contradict an earlier announcement that the Mio and Magellan brands would co-exist here.

MiTAC completes purchase of Magellan

MiTAC has announced the completion of their purchase of Magellan’s consumer products division, and revealed some insights into their strategy and future plans:

• The Mio and Magellan product lines will coexist in the U.S., though they will share technological expertise
• Mio will add new “GPS-based lifestyle products” to their line, so maybe we’ll soon see their Mobile Internet Device that was on display at CES

UPDATE: TWICE is reporting that this or a similar device (they are calling it a UMPC ) will hit the market this fall at around $299.

CES - Conversations with Mio

Mio was showing off their new Moov S-series with the Spirit interface at CES. There really isn’t a lot more to add about that, though I am looking forward to reviewing them. I’m thrilled to see Mio include 12 million POIs, even on entry level models.

Mio Moov S series

Mio will be announcing several new models at CES a little later today. As we predicted last week, these units will incorporate the Spirit interface with what they are now calling "slide screen" technology. Here are details on the new models, all slated to be available in the first half of 2009:

• Mio Moov S300 - 3.5" display, preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, text-to-speech and over 12 million POIs for an MSRP of $199.99
• Mio Moov S500 - All the features of the S300, with an extra wide 4.7" display for an MSRP of $249.99
• Mio Moov S556 - All the features of the S500, plus Bluetooth and Junction View for an MSRP of $299.99
• Mio Moov S700 - An RV-friendly 7" display, MAD Maps content, A/V input, preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, text-to-speech and over 12 million POIs for an MSRP of $299.99

Mio to debut Spirit series at CES? NavReady not ready?

Mio's new corporate blog has dropped a hint that they'll be debuting the Spirit interface on some new North American models next week at CES. Previously available in Europe under the Navman label, the Spirit interface offers "Glide Touch," giving ‘tap and slide’ functionality.

GPS predictions for 2009

Disclaimer: These are predictions and nothing more, so keep your sense of humor and please don’t sue me.

Auto GPS predictions

• A nuvi 8x5 series will bring lane assist and voice recognition together in one unit
• Garmin discontinues the nuvi 200 series; all Garmin nuvi models will now have text-to-speech
• Crowdsourced HD traffic comes to the US with the stateside introduction of the TomTom GO LIVE series
• TomTom releases a GPS receiver that utilizes alternative positioning information for improved accuracy in urban canyons
• More manufacturers display multiple route options visually, ala Dash and Insignia
• Navigon folds, caught between Nextar on the low end and MiTAC’s aggressive promotion of the Magellan line
• Red light camera alerts will move closer to the mainstream
• More downward feature creep -- expect to see Lane Assist on some mid-range Garmins, more units with lifetime traffic, larger screens, etc.
• Garmin announces a desktop application (possibly a revamped MapSource) that allows planning routes with POIs and transferring them to Garmin units with current City Navigator maps; it will be set up to allow users to opt into sharing anonymized tracklogs ala TomTom HOME
• Said application will support wireless transfer of data via ANT or Bluetooth

Magellan to sell consumer GPS division to MiTAC

UPDATE: I've posted some additional info and a bit of speculation, um, analysis.

Magellan Navigation announced this morning that it is selling its consumer products division to MiTAC International, which also owns Mio. The transaction is expected to close in January. The Magellan consumer products division created the Magellan RoadMate, Maestro and Triton product lines.

A GPS company without direction

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.