Speculation on Garmin Android strategy
January 29, 2009 by Rich Owings
A couple of things got me thinking about Garmin's Android strategy yesterday. One was a post by Phandroid, speculating that the Garmin Approach G5 may morph into an Android app. The other was a question by a reporter about handheld device trends.
I'm not convinced that Garmin will create applications for devices manufactured by others, but I can see lots of opportunities for hybrid units. For example, we could see the following:
- A phone that doubles as a golf GPS, as hinted at above
- How about a phone that duplicates the functionality of the Forerunner?
- Or perhaps a phone with backcountry navigation capabilities, and the ability to download aerial imagery and USGS topo maps
Yes, this is just conjecture, but it might explain the plural form of handsets mentioned in the original DigiTimes story that said Garmin "plans to launch self-developed Android handsets in the second half of
2009."
