It’s finally happened. GPS device maker Garmin – and tacitly all of its competitors – has acknowledged that dedicated personal navigation devices are over the hill. The company’s slow foray into the fitness GPS market has accelerated dramatically, with a report suggesting that device sales in the sub-category could top 10 million units this year.

Running to win

ABI Research forecasted the 10 million figure, pointing out that Garmin’s Outdoor and Fitness division managed to deliver a noteworthy 27 per cent of the firm’s operating income in 2010. While sales of dedicated personal navigation devices continue to fall, ABI reports Garmin experienced a sales increase of 25 per cent in its fitness division during Q2 of 2011, no doubt aided by the extremely popular Forerunner 610 GPS watch.

Garmin’s early focus on the fitness GPS category has paid off, with Patrick Connolly, telematics and navigation senior analyst at ABI Research, saying: ‘Garmin remains by far the dominant player in this expanding market, with over 90% of the market share.’ He warned that the landscape would change, with the company on course to face ‘new emerging competition’.

Adapting to survive

The sharp rise of smartphones, which these days all feature built-in GPS hardware as well as a plethora of affordable GPS applications for purchase, has done significant harm to the personal navigation devices business that made up the lion’s share of GPS makers’ revenue.

With their push into the fitness GPS category through GPS watches and related devices, Garmin has successfully diversified parts of its business. In escaping the effect of smartphones on PNDs, has the company walked into the same problem in a different setting? There are numerous high profile health applications like RunKeeper and Nike+ GPS that do what GPS watches do, but on a handset. How long – if at all – will it be before these apps disrupt the latest fertile ground for makers of satnav devices?

A US judge has ruled that using GPS tracking devices to, well, spy on a spouse you believe has a wandering eye – or wandering hands – is neither illegal nor invasion of privacy.

Busted by technology

A New Jersey court ruled against Kenneth Villanova, a sheriff’s officer that had sued private investigator Richard Leonard for tracking him using a GPS device back in 2007. He – and his firm Innovative Investigations Inc – was hired by Villanova’s now ex-wife to track him. The PI advised she place a GPS tracker in the glove compartment of the vehicle the former couple shared because the sheriff’s officer kept shaking him when followed.

Villanova would sue his ex-wife and the GPS tracking devise packing PI for invasion of privacy. Though he dropped the case against her, he continued to pursue it against the private investigator.

Judge’s ruling

The appelate judges ruled Villanova had no right in expecting privacy since the GPS tracking device only tacked his movements on public streets. Judge Joseph Lisa explained that: ‘There is no direct evidence in this record to establish that during the approximately 40 days the GPS was in the… glove compartment the device captured a movement of plaintiff into a secluded location that was not in public view, and, if so, that such information was passed along by Mrs. Villanova to (Leonard),’ Lisa wrote.

Private investigators 1 – Cheating spouses 0

Lisa Reed, an owner of LSR Investigations, a private investigation firm, called this a victory for her industry. She said: ‘For the appellate division to say that it’s not an invasion of privacy is a wonderful thing for the private investigation business’ before adding that ‘It’s been something we’ve been haggling over for some period of time.’

While this story is far more sensational than anything we would normally write on, the ruling’s implications on privacy expectations – in North America at least – is terrifying and, therefore, important you know about. We do hope you, dear reader, will never need to use a GPS device for anything but satellite navigation.

The personal navigation devices industry is going through the hell, and it looks like that hell isn’t going to abide any time soon. TomTom, one of the giants in the space, on Monday cut its 2011 outlook citing weak electronics markets. The catch is this is the second time the company has reduced its forecast this year.

Smartphone killed the GPS star

The company, who compete with Garmin in the personal navigation devices hardware space, and with both Google and Nokia Ovi in the digital maps space, has continually struggled with the rapid decline in sales of dedicated devices.

Smartphones – and now tablet PCs – are significantly eroding the viability of dedicated satnav devices, through a combination of free and cheaply available GPS applications.

The numbers don’t stack up

What this has meant for the personal navigation devices market – TomTom not going unscathed – is rapid consolidation in a time of rapidly declining sales. TomTom’s once-again revised outlook on earnings-per-share from €0.47, to between €0.25 and €0.30. The revenue picture is worse, though, with the company expecting sales between €300 and €310 million. This is a considerable decline from the €350 million it posted in Q2 2010.

North American business in freefall

Unsurprisingly, the quick-to-adopt-new-tech North American market is a particular sore point for TomTom. The satnav device company warned the current market rate of decline is notably aster than earlier in the year, with total sales now expected to be down a dramatic 30 per cent by year’s end. Given that the US market accounts for a large portion of all GPS device sales, the news is not good for any of the PDN hardware vendors.

Honestly, it’s hard to see how this market will return to its heyday, especially on the consumer side. GPS apps on the burgeoning smartphones market are more than sufficient now for most users.

We recently reported on a rumour that Garmin was in discussions to acquire smaller GPS rival Navigon. That rumour has proven true, with the German-based Navigon to join the Garmin family as an independently operated subsidiary.

Undisclosed

Though neither company has said what the eventual acquisition price is, it is believed the Navigon acquisition cost Garmin $72 million. In the requisite press release announcing the acquisition, Navion CEO Egon Minar seemed excited about the prospect of joining the Garmin family.

He writes: ‘We look forward to sharing expertise, technologies, and relationships between Navigon and Garmin in order to serve more customers, expand product offerings, and lead the market in hardware and software innovation.’ He continues, saying, ‘Our two companies each bring complementary strengths to the table, but what we share is a passion for customer satisfaction through innovation.’

Our two companies are now one company, Mr Minar, but that’s just semantics.

The appification of navigation

With the sales of dedicated GPS devices going through the floor, Garmin and Navigon both have been extremely intelligent about repositioning their businesses around smartphones. Garmin’s standalone GPS application is the second-highest grossing navigation application for the iPhone. Navigon, for its part, has four applications in the top 20 for the navigation category.

From a digital positioning and product proliferation perspective, this puts Garmin in good stead, especially with navigation on the iPhone.

Reinventing oneself

This repositioning has, incidentally, never been more critical and necessary than it is right now. When we first wrote on rumours of the Navigon acquisition we said: ‘The way Garmin has managed to do this [growth in turbulent times] is in positioning itself as a top maker of running watches, while putting a growing focus on devices it makes for both the aviation and boating industries. The company was quick to realise that the motor vehicle market is all but lost to the smartphone, so it’s been clever in reinforcing its presence elsewhere.’

This sentiment still holds here, and it will be interesting to see what Navigon’s focus is now that Garmin owns it. We know it won’t be dedicated GPS devices – that would be silly, right?

The struggling satnav device market has seen one of the leaders in the space to acquire one of its competitors on the cheap. Garmin, one of the big two GPS makers in the world, is reportedly looking to acquire Navigon for a modest sum, as the whole industry struggles against stiff competition from smartphones.

Acquisition on the budget

Reuters reports [via Engadget] that satnav device giant Garmin could snap up Navigon for a ‘mid-double-digit million’ euro figure. The vague sum at least hints that it is less than €100 million, which, for an industry that was once traveling at light speed at its peak, can be considered a pretty modest sum. And with this reported deal supposedly being wound down this month already, we’ll know soon enough if this is the case.

A gladiator in a collapsing Colosseum

For its part, Garmin has been doing very well in the shrinking North American GPS devices market – some consolation for an industry marred in gloom. The company is currently the number one satnav device brand in the United States, and has seen its profits triple in the last quarter. North America, incidentally, is a market Navigon never managed to crack, resulting in the company exiting it some time ago already.

Refocus

The way Garmin has managed to do this is in positioning itself as a top maker of running watches, while putting a growing focus on devices it makes for both the aviation and boating industries. The company was quick to realise that the motor vehicle market is all but lost to the smartphone, so it’s been clever in reinforcing its presence elsewhere.

Speaking on smartphones, the satnav device maker has not fared as well as its biggest competitor, TomTom. Where TomTom retails a very popular – and unusually pricey – GPS app for the iPhone, Garmin tried to make its own smartphones through the failed Garmin-Asus partnership. For students of business, watching how makers of GPS devices reinvent their business to deal with the rise of the smartphone will make for a fascinating case study.

With all the news that smartphones were ‘tracking’ our movements, people’s faith in their handsets dropped. Now, though, the news that TomTom has the ability to send both your routes and your driving speed to law enforcement has dropped faith in gadgets to an all time low.

TomTom Go Live is really alive

Every TomTom Live GPS device comes fitted with 3G data cards. These are useful in that they feed route and location information back to the GPS device manufacturer’s central server, allowing the company to draw up maps of where there is traffic congestion. The thing is this data carries a user’s driving speed with it, too, and the company is making the information available to authorities and local government.

Don’t be too scared

TomTom assures us that the data authorities receive is anonymous, so individual drivers cannot be persecuted, though authorities are using the aggregate information to nail drivers in areas where they’re driving dangerous.

Writing on the company’s website Harold Goddijn, who is TomTom’s CEO, says: ‘We are now aware that the police have used traffic information that you have helped create to place speed cameras at dangerous locations where the average speed is higher than the legally allowed speed limit.’

This is good and bad

For users of the TomTom Live range of GPS devices, as well as safe drivers world over, this is both good and bad at the same time. It’s good in the sense that it shows the efficacy of the system in helping keep you safer on the road – reducing the number of speeding drivers in certain hotspots will only have a net benefit to your overall safety.

It’s bad in the sense that it is becoming increasingly more difficult keeping track of which of our gadgets is tracking our movement and usage behaviour. Given the Amazon Kindle has 3G in it, what are the chances they’re tracking us, too? It’s silly feeding unnecessary paranoia, but it sure feels like these tech companies are enjoying keeping tabs on us, doesn’t it?

One of television’s most iconic characters, Homer Simpson, is lending his voice to the TomTom iPhone App as the in-system voice navigator. The humorous inclusion comes courtesy of an update to the $50 (£30) application, with Mr. Simpson’s voice available as an in-app purchase.

D’Oh

Dan Castellaneta, one of the most celebrated voice actors of all time due to his work in the Simpsons, voices Homer, with the character saying things like: ‘Ha ha, you’ve goofed,’ ‘Make a U-turn’ and series catch phrase ‘D’Oh!’

How you can get it

If being barked at by the yellow cartoon character sounds like something you’re keen on, it will cost $6 as an in-app purchase of the already pricey – yet absolutely worth it – $50 TomTom iPhone App.

The character will be available for the US version of the application, with drivers in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands and South Africa having access to Homer in their native TomTom iPhone App.

Clever marketing

For TomTom, this is a clever marketing exercise, and it is not lost on them. Alain Pakiry, who is SVP for marketing at TomTom, said: ‘Homer Simpson is one of the most familiar and fondly recognised cartoon characters on the planet. So to have Homer become uniquely available for our TomTom App for iPhone is really thrilling for us.’ He continued, saying: ‘We believe Homer will bring lots of fun and enjoyment to millions of fans around the world, as drivers’ very own co-pilot.’

Adapting to the times

As smartphones have encroached the terrain previously dominated by GPS devices, watching how the leaders in the space have responded to the threat has been rather fascinating. The company that has impressed us most is undoubtedly TomTom, whose iPhone GPS app is easily the best navigation available for the platform and is comparable (and often better than) stand-alone options.

To have Homer Simpson bestow some navigational wisdom is pretty hilarious. As non-essential as these little voice packs are to the overall GPS experience, it’s in the details that the long-term industry winners will emerge, and TomTom is definitely impressing right now. We’re still fond of their GPS devices, but the company seems to have come round to the idea that the stand-alone dedicated satnav device will give way soon.

As Garmin, TomTom, and other GPS device manufacturers rethink their product offerings post world-class navigation coming to smartphones, Garmin is clearly focusing in on its products targeted at athletes. The company’s long-running Forerunner GPS watches are about to get the most dramatic update in their history to date – the inclusion of a touchscreen on the wrist device.

Forerunner is, umm, for runners

The Garmin Forerunner 610 allows you to tap the screen to flip menus, as opposed to fidget with the buttons to perform tasks. The hope is this will decrease how long you have to interact with the watch to see the results you want, allowing you to focus back on your activities.

Feature set

The Garmin Forerunner 610 will display your distance traveled, time elapsed since your workout started, and a pace display all on one screen. In addition you can add other metrics, like your heart rate, to the same screen.

This Forerunner GPS watch is also the first in its range to feature a run/walk alert. This keeps auto lap features active, but also detects when you’ve switched your pace from running to walking.

Big community push

Garmin, having seen how Nike Plus and even RunKeeper have made community features a key component of their offering, are doing the same. The company is following in step with its ‘Virtual Racer’ community, allowing you to compare your stats – which are stored in incredible detail – with that of strangers or just as a way to measure and improve upon your personal record.

The company is intent on making the Forerunner GPS watch as interactive and connected as possible.

The test

As is often the case, it’s in use where the Garmin Forerunner 610 will reveal whether or not it’s up to the task. In rain, cold, or sweaty conditions, how the touchscreen device responds will either break or make the watch. And, if it holds up well, this could very well be the best of the GPS sports watches available on the market.

A report has warned that Britain is far too reliant on satellite navigation systems, and that even a momentary outage of service could lead to people losing their lives.

Morbid, much?

The report comes way of the Royal Academy of Engineering, which also warns that present back-up systems are usually inadequate, as well as pointing out that equipment capable of illegally blocking systems is readily and cheaply available.

Road, rail, ship, death?

Dr Martyn Thomas, who is the chairman of the academy’s Global Navigation Space Systems (GNSS) working group, warned that a slight failure of GNSS could conceivably ‘cause loss of life’.

He explained that: ‘The UK is already dangerously dependent on GPS. GPS and other GNSS are so useful and so cheap to build into equipment that we have become almost blindly reliant on the data they give us.’ He warns that: ‘A significant failure of GPS could cause lots of services to fail at the same time, including many that are thought to be completely independent of each other’.

Beyond your car

There are quite a handful of stories of GPS devices’ errant directions causing the death of their passengers, but what the Royal Academy of Engineering is warning of is on a far grander scale.

Malice

What Thomas is warning of primarily is situation where data is accidentally or maliciously interfered with, resulting in jammed or errand systems. And, with the slightest misdirection from industrial GPS devices leading ships marginally off course yet into significant danger, it’s easy to see why there is so much concern.

Simple solution

Ultimately the Royal Academy of Engineering is looking to have a legal loophole that forbids the use of signal jamming devices to be extended to outlawing their possession and importation, too. Basically, as things stand, you’re not allowed to use any objects that block satellite navigation systems, yet you’re allowed to important and own them, which is ridiculous.

Given our huge reliance on satellite navigation systems, in our cars and beyond, we’d do well to head the academy’s warning. This is not to say be overly fearful of using your GPS devices, but rather to warn you to be mindful to not be overly reliant on it.

While stand-alone GPS devices are under increasing pressure due to competition on smartphones, GPS as a technology is only going from strength to strength. The latest signal that the navigation system is infiltrating our lives without signs of slowing down is the adoption of the technology in the aviation industry.

European Commission says ‘Go’

The European Commission has announced that EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, is cleared to be used in aviation. The system can tell airplanes and choppers their location within a couple of metres, making them safe for use. The European Commission certified the system for ‘safety of life’ uses this past Wednesday.

So what changes?

Effectively what this means is that pilots are using GPS navigations systems in their planes. This is a slight change, in that historically, larger airlines landing at international airports have been reliant on ground-based system to guide them to the runway. The beauty of EGNOS is that it will help certain final approach phases on these planes, as well as improving the aircrafts position en route to its destination.

Where this navigation overlay will likely see widespread use is in smaller aircrafts landing at smaller airports, because the ground infrastructure is comparably limited to the larger airports.

Key European

EGNOS and Galileo, Europe’s very own GPS equivalent, are key initiatives for Europe. Antonio Tajani, who is the Vice President of the European Commission, made the announcement of the clearance.

Speaking to the BBC directly after, he said: ‘I believe in Egnos and Galileo, not because they are my dream, but because they are part of our industrial policy’. He continued, saying: ‘Space may be up there, but Egnos and Galileo will deliver services to the citizen here on the ground’.

Proliferation of the technology

Navigation systems and technology go far beyond the rudimentary functions of GPS devices and smartphones, with agriculture, transportation and even the climatology industry being hugely dependent on them. The fact that Europe is fast tracking its own systems so that it does not have to be reliant on America’s GPS satellite navigation systems is indicative of this.