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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Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer who assembles a sizable percentage of our consumer electronics, is planning to open a boatload of retail stores in China, where they’ll sell the smorgasbord of gear that they assemble.
