FORD DEALERSHIPS IN GERMANY SELLING GARMIN WITH VEHICLE PURCHASE

Ford dealerships in Germany are now selling the Garmin StreetPilot i3, StreetPilot C310, and StreetPilot C330 gps systems directly to customers when they purchase vehicles.
“We are happy that Ford, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, has selected Garmin as one of their GPS providers,” said Susanne Crefeld, Director Sales & Marketing at GPS GmbH in Grafelfing, the German Garmin exclusive distributor. “Mobile navigation systems are highly sought after, and this agreement marks the first time Ford dealers can offer customers a Garmin GPS for their navigation solution.”

INFORMATION COURTEOUS OF GPS REVIEW

GARMIN TO RELEASE NEW STREETPILOT C550

Garmin is getting ready to release a new GPS receiver in the StreetPilot line, the Garmin StreetPilot C550. Little is known about all of the specs and features, however it will have an SD slot which will store MP3 files and JPEG pictures in addition to maps.
The StreetPilot c550 obviously includes an MP3 player and it will create playlists based on genre. Album art also appears to be supported. The StreetPilot c550 also includes Bluetooth support to connect to Bluetooth phones. You can receive and place calls through the StreetPilot c550 interface. You can create a phonebook on the StreetPilot c550 and it will dial POI’s for you from the screen.
Despite these audio features, the c550 does not appear to support text-to-speech. The Garmin StreetPilot c550 also can connect to an optional FM TMC Traffic receiver to retrieve live traffic information and provide routing detours around traffic troublespots.
The StreetPilot c550 also appears to be compatible with an optional Travel Guide like the one for the Garmin Nuvi.
Source: fcc. No word yet on availability or pricing

Garmin sues TomTom for patent infringement

Garmin Ltd. has filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against its most visible rival, TomTom Inc.
The suit, filed Feb. 1 in federal court in Madison, Wis., alleges that TomTom infringed on three navigation-related patents. One patent lists Garmin CEO Min Kao as one of the inventors.


"TomTom Inc. rejects Garmin's claims and will vigorously defend itself," TomTom said in a written release Thursday.
TomTom spokeswoman Karen Drake declined to comment on the suit.
Olathe-based Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) and TomTom, based in the Netherlands, are chief rivals in the emerging market for portable navigation systems in cars.
Although Garmin also makes navigation electronics for planes, boats and recreational use, TomTom is wholly focused on the automotive market. It entered the U.S. market in the summer with a sizable marketing push including television ads during Monday Night Football.
Both companies make similar-looking portable navigation devices that are shaped like miniature desktop computer monitors.
"We need to protect the hard work of our engineers," Garmin spokesman Ted Gartner said Thursday. "In this case, we felt there was infringement."
Garmin holds more than 200 patents, including several with Kao and fellow co-founder Gary Burrell listed as inventors.
This is the first time Garmin, founded in 1989, has initiated a patent infringement lawsuit, Gartner said.
"Frankly, patents are only good if they're enforced," he said.
Garmin has been hit with patent infringement lawsuits itself, by electronics giant NCR Corp. in 2004 and a small California company last year. In both cases, Garmin countersued and ended up settling out of court for undisclosed amounts.

Information courtesy of Kansas Business Journal