Philips Announces Intention to get into the GPS Market in Europe
Philips, the massive electronics company, has announced that it is planning market entries into the stand alone GPS market this fall. It would be a new line of three products from September and October in Germany, France and the Benelux countries starting at 400 euros (~$500). (Just in time for holiday shopping.) It sounds like the units are going to be slim Garmin Nuvi or Mio C310 style units that are thin and portable. In a statement they indicated that the units would be about 160 grams (about 5 ounces) and 2 centimeters thick (< 1 inch). This probably stands to hurt TomTom the most, as they have about half of the European market.
Now, I like Philips products and they tend to have some rock solid products, but we have seen that getting GPS units right is not a simple endeavor. We have seen similar entries from Sony and Alpine, and its too early to tell what the effect will be. What this may in fact do is to speed the adoption of GPS units in the market as more makers pour in so that people are more aware and the audience broadens.
However, if these companies can create innovative products that do a better job of assembling numerous functions into one device well, then they may have a huge advantage over other GPS only device makers. Recently we have seen a lot of additional functions added to the GPS device (Wireless Traffic feeds, MP3 and Video Playback, Camera Functions) that extend the GPS’s importance. To further emphasize the importance of GPS and its potential in our driving lives, a spokesperson for Philips says, “It's a strategic product for the car. Navigation devices may become an access point for services in the car.” Should be interesting, look for a product announcement in late summer.
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Posted by Scott Martin at June 20, 2006 9:58 AM
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