Garmin plans to see a drop in margins due to fierce competition

The move to offer free turn-by-turn navigation by Google and Nokia have turned the usual personal navigation industry upside down with Garmin feeling the most effects from it. The number one US navigation device maker has issued a warning about how falling prices and increased competition would hurt their margins in 2010 – that literally sent their shares go down by as much as 9 percent. They expect prices to decline by about 10 percent which will squeeze them in their bottom lines for 2010. Not only do they forecast a decline in margins, but the company was extremely disappointed by sales of its Nuvifone handsets that didn't have the expected demand that they thought to have at first. Luckily though, the company plans to invest more of its money into R&D this year with an expected launch of two handset models within the first half of the year. When you look back at their US launch of the Garmin Nuvifone G60 handset, it proved to be less attractive when it was first initially launched at $299.99 – making it more expensive than other smartphone offerings it was competing on AT&T's lineup. Hopefully the latest round of handsets will be more attractive with an equal focus on the customer experience as it mainly focuses in on the personal navigation market.

Garmin nuvifone G60 Specifications | Review

source: Reuters