GPS maker Garmin has just shifted the landscape of GPS software for iOS devices. The company announced Tuesday that it has acquired privately-held Navigon AG, makers of GPS software for iPhone. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Navigon, headquartered in Germany, will operate as a subsidiary of Garmin, according to a press release issued by the two companies.
Garmin president and COO Cliff Pemble said that Navigon will complement Garmin’s business because of its relative strength in Europe.
“With Navigon, we are also acquiring one of the top-selling navigation applications for the iPhone and Android platforms – something that we expect will help drive revenue for the combined company going forward,” said Pemble.
I can’t tell if this is a supremely smart move on Garmin’s part, or a supremely desperate one.
It is both – Garmin simultaneously gets a foot in the mobile door (where they couldn’t get any traction) and eliminates their biggest competitor in that same space.
The real question is will Garmin absorb Navigon but not learn from their success? That’s my worry. Garmin makes great standalone GPS units but *sucks* in every other aspect of their business.
Then I guess I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into another Cisco/Flip bit of sadness.
It very well might. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Navigon be shut down by Garmin, if only to open the market up to Garmin software.
Despite the fact that I don’t own an iPhone, I’d be enormously annoyed if that happened.
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