TomTom financials not has hearty as anticipated

[F22]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080408...tom_outlook;_ylt=AnlQigbLLWkApNe6HUDyMcAjtBAF

First 2 paragraphs:

"Personal navigation device maker TomTom NV shocked the market with a profit warning on Tuesday, blaming weak pricing power and European retailers for stocking fewer of its products.


Demand for such devices, which can give drivers turn-by-turn voice directions, has remained strong, but TomTom has faced stiff pricing competition from established players like Garmin Ltd. and non-brand-name Asian competitors such as Taiwan's MiTac International."

 

[Targonis]

There has also been a lack of updates on the PDA side of things which would bring in a pretty good amount of money. There is still no official word on the PDA version of NavCore 7. When they are still selling version 6 on their site yet refuse to release new maps for it, the result won't help sales.

 

[srallen]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080408...tom_outlook;_ylt=AnlQigbLLWkApNe6HUDyMcAjtBAF

First 2 paragraphs:

"Personal navigation device maker TomTom NV shocked the market with a profit warning on Tuesday, blaming weak pricing power and European retailers for stocking fewer of its products.


Demand for such devices, which can give drivers turn-by-turn voice directions, has remained strong, but TomTom has faced stiff pricing competition from established players like Garmin Ltd. and non-brand-name Asian competitors such as Taiwan's MiTac International."

As long as car companies are charging $1500 - $2300 for navigation, I think there will be enough market to support Garmin, TomTom, and the Asican competitors....

 

[Smokiewolf]

As long as car companies are charging $1500 - $2300 for navigation, I think there will be enough market to support Garmin, TomTom, and the Asican competitors....

Good point!

 

[JimT]

I personally would not order a navigation device through an auto manufacturer. They all seem to be dvd driven. I can not see getting much life out of this type of system. I also prefer a portable unit.

 

[Smokiewolf]

Absolutely. I think it's completely foolish to buy one of those.

 

[Gilbert]

A brother in law bought a 2005 Dodge RAM 2500 fully loaded with all available options amongst which is the entertainment center with GPS valued at close to 4,000$. Until March 2008, there was no more recent map than the 2004 map which did not cover any part East of Quebec city in Canada. He usually spends his summer holidays in the Gasp? Peninsula and Northern New-Brunswick... The latest map has just been released which costs 289$ for the NA DVD. I don't know if he has got it yet nor if the coverage is better.

I did get a very cheap portable DVD player. Not to watch movies but to be able to play mp3s I put on DVDs and also acquired an FM transmitter. I only use it on long trips. I was tempted to get a sophisticated sound system for the car but found my car's sound insulation was not good enough at highway speed. If I travelled more than I do, I might go that route but it would be throwing my money away for the frequency of long trips I now do.

 

[Nextourer]

I personally would not order a navigation device through an auto manufacturer. They all seem to be dvd driven. I can not see getting much life out of this type of system. I also prefer a portable unit.

Hard-Drive based systems are already in the market in Japan and are making inroads here in NA (Lexus LS430, Mitsubishi Outlander and Infiniti G35 are a few that have HDD-based nav systems with onboard music storage)

As long as car companies are charging $1500 - $2300 for navigation, I think there will be enough market to support Garmin, TomTom, and the Asican competitors....

Indeed although the prices are coming down fast. Toyota's latest one is a mere US$1,300 or Cdn$1,600 on the Camry. The cheapest factory nav option I've seen yet.

 

[Vettecaster]

Portability is a definite plus for our fav GPS. Hopefully TT will scare up some more advertising $$$ with the summer driving season just about here.