Well, it’s not that easy.

TomTom gets TeleAtlas for ~$4.3B, about double their initial bid of $2.3B. That’s an expensive pricetag for a relatively small company that’s losing money in a super-hot market.

Garmin made a run at TeleAtlas and bid $3.3B. Perhaps they knew that TomTom would raise their bid and also, in hind-sight, it was a smart move that probably helped their negotiations with Navteq to secure a contract for mapping data through 2015.

So, Garmin must be happy to have some breathing room. They have a lot of options available.

They’ve shown they are willing to spend billions on a map database. They can buy a start-up, they can start/continue developing their own, they can partner with a company like Google. Billions can open lots of doors.

TomTom got what they wanted. Maybe more than they wanted to pay, but I understand their motivation. Their exposure to competition is greater than Garmin. They need to differentiate themselves. The map database and nav software is the place to do that.

Read my previous blogs on this here…

TomTom enters higher bid for TeleAtlas. How much is too much?

Garmin outbids TomTom for Teletlas.

All of the sudden…

You knew this was coming…

The first significant acquisition in the PND market.

Read the latest BusinessWeek stories on this here…

11/2/07 story

11/7/07 story

11/16/07 story

One spec. is all you need to read to appreciate this GPS navigator…15″ color display. No, not 4.3″ which is all the rage in PNDs these days…but nearly four times bigger.

No, you won’t find one in a car. The Garmin GPSMAP 5215/5015 are designed to be used in yachts and other large pleasure boats.

The color display is XVGA (1024 x 768 pixels) for awesome map resolution. The touchscreen makes mechanical buttons obsolete.

It comes preloaded with Bluechart G2 maps of the US coastline. You can also load world-wide satellite imagery as a basemap.

With optional BlueChart g2 Vision SD cards, you can add a whole new dimension of exceptional features to your chartplotter.

• Choose to view 3D map information at “mariner’s eye view” above the waterline or “fish eye view” below the water.
• High-resolution satellite images and aerial photographs help you orient yourself in unfamiliar areas.
• Auto Guidance technology searches through all relevant charts to create a route you can actually follow — one that avoids obstacles, shallow water, buoys and other obstructions.

Available March 2008.

Price? You can’t handle it, but it’s fun to look at.

The dominant motherboard and computer manufacturer, ASUS,  seems to be in the PND game to stay.

Although not one that I see on the retailer’s shelf, they’re pushing forward…introducing their next  PNDs…the R300 and R700.

R700:

-4.3″ color touchscreen.

-Integrated Traffic receiver.

-Hands-free Bluetooth.

-Read mobile phone text messages.

-Light sensor to adjust the display in various lighting conditions.

-Samsung 2440 processor.

-WMA/MP3 audio playback.

-MPEG4, H263 video playback.

-WinCE.net 5.0.

-iGO navigation software with maps of Europe and 3D renderings of select buildings. 

R300 has a smaller screen and no integrated traffic receiver.

R700 price is estimated at $450 Euros and to be introduced next month.

Seems like Sony has been in the GPS business fore….ev….ver. I remember the Sony Pyxis back in the early 90’s. They’ve got their own GPS chipset, PND products, etc. By all rights, they should be a leader of one of the hottest segments in consumer electronics…GPS nav.

It’s not for a lack of effort.

They’re introducing a couple of new PNDs to the North American market. Don’t count them out. They’ve got a reputation for hanging around until they get their chance.

The specs are vague, but looks like two models…one with a 4.3″ color touch screen and the other with a 4.8″ color touchscreen.

One very interesting spec is a built-in accelerometer that takes over when GPS cannot operate.

I haven’t seen any PNDs in the Sony retail stores. Maybe they’ll find shelf space for this one.

Pharos isn’t a newcomer to the GPS space. The 150/250 are their newest PNDs. They’ve also got a mobile phone lineup as well as Bluetooth receivers and navigation software for PDAs.

Just in time for the holiday season, Pharos says they are rolling out their “best in class”.

The major difference between the 150 and 250 is the screen size. They are 3.5″ and 4.3″ respectively.

You’ll see Pharos at some of the major retailers.

Specs:

-Drive GPS 250: 4.80” X 3.31” X 0.95”, Drive GPS 150: 3.94” X 3.31” X 0.95”

-Freescale MX21 266Mhz processor.

-WinCE 4.2 operating system.

-5-7 hours continuous on a charge.

-Navteq database for North America.

Price: $200 and $300 respectively.

You knew this stuff was coming, but it’s still cool to see it in action. Basic GPS vehicle tracking has been around for awhile. It’s almost a defacto standard in rental cars to keep control of their fleet.

EarthSearch is taking it to another level by interfacing to the vehicle electronics infrastructure. You can actually turn the vehicle ignition off via your mobile phone or your computer if you’re one block from your vehicle or across the country.

Even better, it can track stolen vehicles. EarthSearch published a press release about a case in Georgia. Read about it here.

But the really cool stuff is the control. Want to put a speed restriction on your teen driver? Want to place a geo fence where the teen can’t drive outside of an area defined by you?

Here are the features available to you on your mobile phone or computer:

-unauthorized vehicle movement.

-Track and locate your vehicle.

-Disable/enable engine remotely.

-Various alarms (speed, battery disconnect, geo fence, movement, etc.).

AutoSearch says, and I agree, this kind of technology will take a serious bite outta crime.

For those of you who have kept up with bidding war for TeleAtlas between TomTom and Garmin, it wasn’t hard to see it would end up here. The next step, however, isn’t so clear as the price for TeleAtlas is approaching outrageous.

First offer a few months back: TomTom bids $21.25 Euros ($2.8B) for TeleAtlas.

Last week: Garmin tops TomTom and offers $24.50 Euros. Garmin also disclosed they’ve accumulated 5% ownership of TeleAtlas via the open market.

TeleAtlas gave TomTom 5 days to respond. They did.

Yesterday, TomTom offered $30 Euros/share and disclosed they have 28% ownership in TeleAtlas. That values TeleAtlas at ~$4.2B Euros.

Think about it, $4.2B Euros for a company on track to generate $250M Euros annual revenue that can’t figure out how to make serious money in one of the hottest sectors in high-tech?

Oh yeah…to complicate the situation, the only other TeleAtlas competitor in this duopoly, Navteq, is being acquired by Nokia for $8.1B. They are also Garmin’s #1 map database supplier…supplying something like 95+% of Garmin’s map needs.

Now, the notion that Garmin is going to go belly-up if they don’t own one of these two companies doesn’t make any sense. They are Navteq’s largest customer and wih Nokia paying a premium for Navteq, they aren’t going to throw Garmin under the bus. That wouldn’t be in the best interest of the Nokia shareholder. Yes, I think in the long-term it would behoove Garmin to own the map database they use so they can do the MapShare thing more efficiently and capitalize on new mapping technologies, but if that doesn’t happen the Garmin train is still going to run strong. Remember folks, in the PND space it’s not about the technology as much as it’s about distribution. Garmin’s got one of the best distribution systems in the business. That’s not going to go away anytime soon.

Lastly, Garmin has demonstrated it’s willing to throw some serious cash at the mapping database business. That could attract the attention of some serious potential partners. Remember also, what Navteq and TeleAtlas have is not rocket-science. No technology barriers to entry and no patent blocks. And it’s much, much easier and quicker to develop a map database than it was when Navteq and TeleAtlas started in the biz.

With a street price as low as $200, Magellan is giving Mio a run for their money for value-priced PNDs.

The specs on the 1200 are no slouch. It reminds me a lot of my 2500T (Crossover), but about 1/2 the price (fewer features, of course).

-3.63″ x 3.30″ x .69″.  4.94 ounces.

-3.5″ color touchscreen. QVGA.

-SiRF Centrality processor.

-2 hrs. battery on a charge (L-ion battery and charger sold separately).

 -Preloaded maps of contiguous US, Hawaii, Puerto Rico.

Battery life is not close to my 2500T (8 hrs.), maybe due to the Centrality processor).

No info on pricing of the L-ion battery/charger. Won’t be cheap, so this ends up being a $300 system.

Blaupunkt, the perennial, well-established European car audio system designer unveils their newest PND. The TravelPilot Lucca 5.3.

The Lucca 5.3 has stylish lines.

Using Centrality Atlas III dual-core processor (a company recently acquired by SiRF), the Lucca 5.3 takes the infotainment road. High on the list of features is video-in (with cradle), WMV video playback on MMC/SD card, WMA/MP3 playback on MMC/SD card and JPG display on MMC/SD card.

Specs:

-129mm (5.08″) x 95mm (3.74″) x 22mm (.86″). 9 ounces.

-4.3″ color touchscreen. 480 x 272 resolution.

-Navigation for up to 5 hours. on a charge.

-Optional Steering Wheel remote control.

-Bluetooth hands-free and audio streaming.

Pretty typical specs. They’re keeping up with the Jones’ with a little audio/visual twist.

This is one of those thing where you’d pay dearly for it if you were stuck and needed help. At $170 and $99/yr., it’s must-have for the serious outdoor person. Man, what a great Christmas gift for the outdoor person in your family.

With GPS-equipped mobile phones, you deal with the variable of network coverage…especially when you’re in the boonies, where most of you will be when you need it the most. This unit uses satellite communications. While you can’t use it in a cave, just step outside and you got it.

Specs:

-One yr battery life when unused.

-Four modes of operation:

-Floats in water. -40F to +185F. -300ft altitude to +21,000ft altitude.

Caveat Emptor…I’ve never seen the product, but it’s worth a serious look.