Garmin has announced that they have agreed to acquire Navigon, in a deal still subject to regulatory approval (though I would be surprised if that presents much of an obstacle). Navigon’s OEM business and their iPhone and Android apps, were cited as complementary by Garmin President and COO Cliff Pemble. Navigon will operate as a subsidiary of Garmin, which brings up an interesting question regarding the future of Garmin’s mobile apps. Will the two entities compete in the same markets?
Garmin agrees to acquire Navigon
June 14, 2011 By 2 Comments
Garmin to buy Navigon?
June 3, 2011 By 1 Comment
Garmin is in talks to buy Navigon for around $72 million USD, according to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland. No rationale for the acquisition is given. Navigon has been a strong innovator in the auto navigation market, and while they probably have good market share in their native Germany, they have only captured about 10% of the total European market.
At that bargain-basement price, perhaps it’s enough to get some talented engineers, and some additional European market share and distribution capabilities, as a way to put a bit more pressure on TomTom on their home turf.
Navigon returning to US PND market?
June 12, 2010 By 1 Comment
UPDATE (June 17, 2010): Sad to say I received this from Navigon’s PR manager today:
I came across your blog post about the NAVIGON 70 showing up at FCC and wanted to clarify that we are not planning to launch new PND’s in the U.S. at this point. NAVIGON has reallocated its resources in the U.S. from the PND to the software business in the smartphone and automotive field. The reason why the NAVIGON 70 landed at the FCC is that we will have an AAFES version of this product in Germany for U.S. soldiers stationed there. Since the military bases in Germany are considered U.S. ground, our products need to go through the FCC.
Well it sure does look that way, since several models just sailed through the FCC. It all seems to indicate that the Navigon 70/71 Plus, Premium and Premium Car models are heading back to this side of the pond. Perhaps the Portable Navigation Device (PND) market isn’t dead after all.
Navigon USA folds
May 4, 2009 By 46 Comments
Following several days of speculation in blogs and on message boards, Navigon CEO Egon Minar has confirmed that they will “withdraw from the PND business in North America.” Though they are saying this is “for the time being,” I seriously doubt that they will ever reverse this decision. Navigon is keeping their Chicago office open, but it is unclear what level (if any) of support services will remain, or if Navigon owners will be able to purchase new services.
New Navigon introductions feature MyRoutes
March 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Navigon is announcing three new models today — the 3300 max, 4300T and 7300T. The big news is the MyRoutes feature, which provides up to three route choices with distance and ETA calculated for all entered destinations, factoring in speed limits, construction and traffic. As you can see above, route options are displayed on a map with ETA and driving time.
Navigon adds new ala carte downloads
January 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Continuing the no new hardware trend we ID'd yesterday, Navigon will announce this morning a wide range of new downloadable content, some good, some not so good. On the plus side we have red light cameras and European maps. Of more questionable value is 3D landmarks, and sure to rile the folks who bought the Navigon 7200T is the option to beef up its weak POI database by paying $29.99 for an additional 2.8 million POIs.
NAVIGON 2200T review
December 16, 2008 By 1 Comment
NOTE: Navigon has pulled out of the U.S. market and we are no longer recommending their receivers. Check out our auto GPS buyers guide for our current recommendations.
The Navigon 2200T
Pro, Lane Assist Pro, speed limit display, multi-destination trip planning and DirectHelpSM
. It includes maps of the 48 contiguous United States. PC Magazine has reported a fairly small number of POIs – 2 million, though I have not been able to verify that; Navigon documentation simply states that the device has “millions of POIs.”
Navigon 7200T review
November 21, 2008 By 2 Comments
NOTE: Navigon has pulled out of the U.S. market and we are no longer recommending their receivers. Check out our auto GPS buyers guide for our current recommendations.
The Navigon 7200T
NAVIGON 8100T with 3D terrain
November 10, 2008 By Leave a Comment
NAVIGON is trotting out one last new introduction for the holidays — the NAVIGON 8100T. This new top of the line unit updates the 7200T (which we're giving away on GPS Deals) with 3-D terrain views and a brushed metal finish.
Navigon announces 2090S and 5100 max
November 3, 2008 By 2 Comments
We gave you a heads up about the NAVIGON 5100 max last month, but the 2090S has surprised even us. Two key things to know about these new units; they will:
- Be available exclusively through RadioShack stores and RadioShack.com
- Include FreshMaps in the purchase, so users will receive eight map updates over two years
On to the details:
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