It’s been a few years but iriver just released an updated version of its NV GPS navigator with SPINN UI. Wa… wait a second, that’s a Samsung logo. Sorry, this is the Samsung SENS-240, a hybrid car navigation system / tablet that plays nice with your…
Author Archives: Thomas Ricker
Nokia W7 and W8 tipped as first Windows Phone models
If you can accept what we’re about to tell you as rumor, and nothing more, then we’d like to let you in on the latest scuttlebutt surrounding Nokia’s first dip into the shallow Windows Phone waters. Eldar Murtazin, the eternal Nokia antagonist, claims…
Posted in eldar murtazin, EldarMurtazin, n8, Nokia, prototype, rumor, w7, w8, windows phone, WindowsPhone, x7 Tagged greader Comments closed
Philips GoGear Connect is a legitimate Android-based iPod touch competitor (updated)
For all its success, the iPod touch has few dedicated media player competitors capable of matching its big-touchscreen, WiFi, and voluminous App Store. Until today. Philips just went official with its GoGear Connect featuring the full suite of Google …
Posted in gogear, gogear connect, GogearConnect, GPS, ifa, ifa 2010, Ifa2010, ipod touch, IpodTouch, Media Player, MediaPlayer, mp4 player, Mp4Player, philips, PMP, skyhook, songbird Tagged greader Comments closed
Garmin and TomTom cling to profits, hope
As everyone knows, Garmin and TomTom have their backs against the ropes in a fight to remain relevant in an age of free GPS turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones (thanks Google and Nokia). While dedicated personal navigators are almost always superior to their converged competition, the gap has certainly narrowed such that it’s become difficult to justify another device when an increasing number of people already carry a fine navigation device in their pockets. But that’s just gut instinct talking, where’s the hard evidence? Certainly not speculative stock prices. A good place to start is in forward-looking financial statements like the one Garmin, the leading navigation device maker in the US, just issued. Gamin says that it expects competition to cause prices to decline by about 10% in the personal navigation device (PND) industry putting pressure on margins, and thus profits, in 2010. It also sees flat or slightly declining revenue over the same period. Fortunately for Garmin, it has a diversified product offering that includes the Nuvifone. However, Garmin admits to being disappointed by sales of the handset that “won” our Editor’s Choice award for Worst Gadget of the Year.
Things aren’t all doom and gloom, though. Garmin has a pair of Nuvifones in the chute including the Android-powered A50. And its Q4 results of $1.43 per share easily beat analyst expectations of 95 cents a share. Even TomTom surprised many last week with a 1% increase in Q4 revenue and net profit of €75 million compared to a €989 million loss a year ago. So there's some hope left for the dedicated PND market… but not much.
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS
Garmin and TomTom cling to profits, hope originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in financials, garmin, google, google navigation, GoogleNavigation, GPS, Maps, navigation, Nokia, nuvifone, ovi, pnd, tomtom Tagged greader Comments closed
Manufacturers redirecting R&D on declining GPS device orders?
If you enjoy the decimation of an industry as much as Google does then you’re going to love the latest rumor sourced from DigiTimes' manufacturing moles. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, personal navigation device R&D teams at the manufacturing powerhouses of Foxconn (aka, Hon Hai) and Wistron have been shifted to other devices in the face of "declining PND orders." Seems logical as GPS-equipped smartphones snuff out their dedicated forebears with the same converged precision that turned wrist watches into items of fashion. The strange part of this DigiTimes rumor is that said manufacturers have shifted those PND teams to focus on e-book readers and (are you ready?) MIDs. Man, if the world’s largest manufacturer of consumer electronics sees MIDs as a more economically viable option than personal navigators, well, maybe things are more dire for TomTom and Garmin than originally feared.
Manufacturers redirecting R&D on declining GPS device orders? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted in digitimes, ebook reader, EbookReader, ereader, Foxconn, GPS, hon hai, HonHai, Manufacturing, mid, pnd, rumor, wistron Tagged greader Comments closed
Video: HTC develops THINK+ car computer for LUXGEN 7 MPV
HTC is best known for its handsets running Windows Mobile and increasingly, Android. But did you know that they’ve built a full-on car computer in Taiwan? THINK+, as it’s known, embeds GPS navigation, 3.5G communications, and a big ol’ integrated 10.2-inch display inside of Taiwan’s new LUXGEN 7 MPV to give it a range of functions including voice-activated calling, SMS read-back, media playback from USB devices, car diagnostics, night vision, parking assist, and enough cameras to give a 360-degree and top-down view. Unfortunately, the UI looks to be entirely utilitarian lacking any of the TouchFlo gymnastics we’re used to seeing. Then again, would you really feel safe operating a button-less touchscreen while driving a car? Check a sample video after the break or hit-up Autoblog for the full story.
[Via Engadget Chinese]
Read — THINK+ demo
Read — Autoblog hands-on
Continue reading Video: HTC develops THINK+ car computer for LUXGEN 7 MPV
Filed under: Transportation
Video: HTC develops THINK+ car computer for LUXGEN 7 MPV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Posted in 7 mpv, 7Mpv, htc, luxgen, luxgen 7 mpv, Luxgen7Mpv, think, think plus, ThinkPlus Tagged greader Comments closed
