Who of you owns a GPS, or more specifically a car navigator?
Tom Tom, a Netherlands based company has reported 80 percent reduction in
revenue. One of the reasons cited is that while prices have dropped,
volume of sales hasn't increased in proportion to maintain profit levels.
This is because the market is probably saturated, an analyst said.
Thing is, I know of very few people who own GPSes and I move in circles
where people tend to buy gadgets and modern appliances.
So, who is buying the bloody things. Or is that the point - while they're
now cheaper than say 3 years ago (my Tom Tom one cost me close to $900 and
they now sell for around $300) perhaps people still aren't buying them.
Full article here.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/articles/gps-market-at-turning-point/2008/04/28/1209234713479.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
I goes on to say this about navigators:
"Some drivers may prefer to stick with that option, printing route maps
before they set out in the car. Others buy built-in navigation systems
that integrate with a car's design."
I concur. I drove a mate's Landcruiser. current model. It has the GPS in
the dash. I didn't like it. I had to continually look down at it and
taking my eyes completely off the road in order to see it. It also had
colors that looked washy. Plus the display itself wasn't that flash in
bright sunlight. (a mate's VE Clubby R8's in dash display was worse).
I prefer to mount my navigator on the dash to the right of the steering
wheel. It's easy to glance at. But the missus can't see it (I bought it
for her for her birthday so she could get around MEL without me). So it is
perched in the centre of the dash.
I want to purchase a navigator for my bike. Unfortunately THEY have NOT
come down in price. The Garmin Nuvo, I think it is, retails for around
$1,300 while the Tom Tom Rider sells for around the grand mark. Still
bloody expensive for something that's more less been water proofed and
with bluetooth thrown in for motorcycle BT headsets and not much else.
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