T-Mobile's Garminfone not selling says Wall Street analyst

Posted: 07 Jul 2010, 04:00, by Alan F.

Categories: T-Mobile T-Mobile Unofficial Unofficial Android Android Touch Touch Garmin-Asus Garmin-Asus Bookmark

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T-Mobile's Garminfone not selling says Wall Street analyst

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According to Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner, T--Mobile's Garminfone could end up in the same situation that befell the AT&T Nuvifone G60-lack of sales leading to discontinuation. As you would expect from Garmin, both models are navigation centric and the manufacturer said earlier this year that it is disappointed with the sales of the Linux powered Nuvifone G60. According to Reiner, T-Mobile did not follow through on the launch of the device with timely promotion. In his report to Oppenheimer brokers and customers, he said, "Before the product launched, many sales associates spoke with enthusiasm about the device, stating it had by far the best navigation functionality of any mobile phone," he continued, "However, even several days after release, many stores had not yet put the handset out on display, which was probably not very beneficial for sales. Others had not sold any despite displays being set up and several sold a few (less than 5). As of the beginning of this week stores have yet to show any meaningful sales numbers with maybe five sold on average per store since launch." Reiner says that the carrier has sold a total of just 20,000 units. One of the problems is that the phone runs the ancient Android 1.6 OS. Furthermore, Android phones running 2.0 or higher are equipped with free turn-by-turn navigation from Google, hitting the Garminfone right in its heart. Also, some have considered the Garminfone to be pricey at $199.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and a signature on a two-year contract. To put that price in perspective, the upcoming high-end Motorola DROID X, launching with Android 2.1, will cost the same $199 after a $100 mail-in-rebate and a signed two-year pact. Shortly after launch, T-Mobile ran a Father's Day promotion and the handset was offered free with a new family plan and that also put a dent in sales. Reiner visited 50 T-Mobile stores to gather the necessary research for his report.

Garmin-Asus Garminfone Specifications | Hands-on

source: FierceWireless

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1. invno1 posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:47 0 0

There just isn't anything special about the garminphone except the navigation which as stated, you get with google anyway. There is nothing setting this phone apart to be special. It is being largely shadowed by the myTouch slide that is a really awesome phone. Garminphone needed to get ahead of the game to be competitive. Not start fresh with 1.6 and no added features. Honestly, I don't know what the hell they were thinking. I'm not gonna buy tires without a car. The garminphone is the tires with the awesome gps, but running 1.6 which is going nowhere.

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2. digitalfreak posted on 07 Jul 2010, 12:12 0 0

Had this phone in my hands and have to say that I really liked the design and UI they have built. Seemed responsive enough, but for this amount of money (even for any money) it was missing a few critical components. Too slow of a processor (should have minimum 1GHz considering the available competition), no 3.5mm headphone jack, only a 3mp camera w/ no flash and a way outdated version of Android! Seriously, what the hell is Garmin and T-mobile thinking. This would be a great business phone or traveler's android phone with these options upgraded. Since it seems they would be targeting travelers with the GPS, you would think that they would understand that people traveling like to take pictures with a semi-decent camera. When I was at the T-mobile store, the excuse is that there has to be phones for every level. This one misses the mark completely. If they update the specs (which they of course won't) I will be picking one up. Without that, after 10+ years on T-mobile, I may finally have to change carriers. The only decent phone on the horizon seems to be their version of the Samsung Galaxy S and guess what...no flash again for that camera! Whoever makes these decisions should be shot. :)

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3. ace1122 posted on 07 Jul 2010, 14:57 0 0

Its just another outdated phone. Gps is everywhere now. If its not built into your car then its accessible by almost any cell phone anyways so..? Idk. It seems like every carrier has at least one phone that is a mega fail.

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4. PhoneUser posted on 07 Jul 2010, 15:15 0 0

If this phone would have came out WAY BACK WHEN they started announcing it, it would have sold. But like the past readers said it just doesn't match up to what phones now have. This phone took FOREVER to come out and thats what killed the hype.

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