nüvifone™. The navigation phone.Magellan Navigation sold to MiTAC
(Credit:
Magellan)
On Monday, Magellan Navigation Inc., entered into a definitive agreement to sell its consumer products division to Taiwanese-based MiTAC International Corporation and expects the transaction to be finalized by January 2009, though no specifics were given about the financial terms. As part of the package, MiTAC, which also owns Mio Technology, makers of the Mio Knight Rider GPS and the the Mio C520, will inherit the Magellan RoadMate and Maestro series of portable navigation devices and the Triton series of handheld GPS.
Though Magellan still has a decent retail presence in the United States and comes in third to Garmin and TomTom, the company has been slow to come out with new products and hasn't been able to keep up with the big two in terms of features, innovation, or support. Meanwhile, Mio has struggled with brand recognition in the States. Just how the two companies will integrate remains to be seen, but GPS Business News believes that MiTAC will do away with the Mio brand and build on Magellan's name and customer base. This would probably make the most sense, but either way, it's going to be an uphill battle.
(Official press release: Magellan)
Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie.
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