Garmin Ltd. and Navigon AG just announced that the two companies have reached an agreement and a subsidiary of Garmin will acquire the privately-held navigation company. The financial terms of the transaction was not released.
German-based Navigon pulled out of the North American PND market in 2009 and has since focused on the European region and smartphone apps. It’s likely that these two areas of investment were key to Garmin’s interest. We reviewed Navigon’s last US-centric GPS units in 2009 and while they were competent, failed to eclipse Garmin’s or TomTom’s models in anyway. → Read More
As rumored, GPS device company Garmin has bought its European competitor Navigon AG. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but previous reports have indicated that the company was acquired for roughly $72 million. Navigon will operate as a subsidiary of Garmin.
Similar to Garmin, Navigon, which is based in Germany, develops navigation software and GPS devices. The company also offers navigation applications for the iPhone and Android. The company has an estimated seven percent share in portable navigation devices in Europe. → Read More
Navigon pulled out of the US market just a little bit ago and took a whole product line with them. That doesn’t mean that the company is done completely though. The 7310 was just announced and it looks alright. → Read More
Apparently Navigon is abruptly getting out of the hardware GPS game in North America, citing “the difficult economic environment” and “aggressive pricing” from competitors. Navigon CEO Egon Minar told GPS Business News, “We have decided to withdraw from the PND business in North America for the time being. We are however not closing down our Chicago office which will continue to serve our automotive and mobile phone businesses in North America.” → Read More
Short Version: We take a close look at four NAVIGON GPS units that are overpriced but still capable PND. Click on for a review of the 2000S, 2200T, 7200T and 8100T personal navigation devices. → Read More
Rather than releasing your standard black bezel, commonplace GPS unit, NAVIGON threw everything possible into the flagship 8100T GPS navigator. The real fun begins with a 4.8-inch widescreen touchscreen that serves up a gorgeous navigation experience once your eyes move past the striking brushed-metal exterior. → Read More
The J.D. Power and Associates just released the 2008 Portable Navigation Device customer satisfaction rankings with Garmin taking the top seat and TomTom following closely behind. These scores are a composite of six factors that include: ease of use, routing, system appearance, speed of system, voice direction, and navigation display screen. Garmin ranks highest among portable navigation device manufacturers, performing particularly well in the display screen, ease of use and appearance factors TomTom follows Garmin in the ranking, performing well in the routing, speed of system and voice direction factors Personally, I have never been a big fan of Garmin interfaces; who am I though but a lowly gadget blogger. JDPower via GPSTracklog → Read More
Yesterday we grabbed a GPS deal at $149. Now today, Staples has the Navigon 2100 GPS unit at $119 plus a $20 mail-in rebate, brining the price down to $99. The 2100 features preloaded maps of the lower 48, 3.5-inch touchscreen, text-to-speech, 3D navigation, and optional traffic information. Not bad at all for under $100. NAVIGON 2100 Portable GPS [Staples] → Read More
The higher-end 7×5 series receives familiar tech updates. Something about the new features of Lane Assist and 3D buildings makes me think back a few days to the NAVIGON 7200T announcement. Moving on though, the Garmin units now have lifetime NAVTEQ traffic too, with the 785T receiving MSN Direct treatment. (think gas prices, weather reports, new…stuff like that) These models have already been priced with the 755T clocking in at $499, $599 for the 765T, $799 for the 775T and $699 for the 785T. No word on availability but we’re sure they will be out soon if the pricing is already out. 7X5 PR & 2X5 PR → Read More
This time around, when the Reality-View is enabled, landmarks like the Empire State Building and such show up in 3D. Who knows how many said landmarks are in the database, but we imagine there must be a bunch to make this feature available. Handsfree junkies will appreciate not only the standard Bluetooth calling, but also the new destination entry mode. The 7200t will send you on your mary way by simply speaking the address or landmark. NAVIGON has also refreshed the Lane Assistant mode and added an exit guide to find those Bigby Coffees a bit easier. → Read More
Navigon 2100 Max Navigon made waves not long ago by introducing GPS units with free map upgrades for a one-time fee, unique among entry-level GPS units. The 2100 Max is an inexpensive in-car GPS add-on with many high-end features, including text to speech, comprehensive POI database, and upgradable maps. → Read More
It’s nice to see GPS devices come out near the $300 point that don’t skimp too much on features. The NAVIGON 2100 max and 2120 max were announced today at CeBIT and feature a 4.3-inch widescreen display, text-to-speech directions, and “NAVIGON’s exclusive Reality View, which provides 3D guidance when approaching highway interchanges.” There’s also a feature called “DirectHelp” that “pinpoints a user’s location and provides instant links to nearby services such as hospitals, pharmacies, and roadside assistance.” The only difference between the 2100 max and the 2120 max is that the 2120 includes maps of the US and Canada, while the 2100 just has the lower 48. NAVIGON also announced its “FreshMaps” service, which updates your maps and points-of-interest up to 12 times over three years so you’ll always have up-to-date directions. The 2100 max costs $299 and the 2120 max costs $329. If you’re looking for a great deal, Amazon has the non-max version of the 2100 for $160. It’s got most of what the 2100 max has, except for a smaller 3.5-inch 4:3 screen. NAVIGON’s New GPS Devices Earn Their Name [NAVIGON Press Release] → Read More
The Digital Life trade show won’t hit New York till October, but the boys and girls at Ziff Davis had a small (but very crowded, might I add) preview on Thursday, which I’m just getting around to writing about today. While it seemed like every other company there was tacking GPS onto its products, Navigon wants to distinguish itself. Its two new portable GPS units, the $499 5100 and the $649 7100, are ready for your “I’m lost, what do I do?” scenarios. The units both offer the same standard GPS features you’d expect to see nowadays like built-in places of interest (though with Zagat-supplied “how good is this place?” information, which is unique to Navigon) and text-to-speech (“turn right onto Main Street in 50 feet” not “turn right at intersection in 50 feet”). But it’s Navigon’s Reality View that merits the most attention. → Read More
