The PND used to use proprietary technology and now they all using off-shelf merchant chips. There is really not much barrier left. Look at Yahoo and Google maps, can anyone say it is inferior to Garmin's. It is much easier for Nokia/Apple to add GPS functionality than for Garmin to add phone capability. The latter require stringent telco qualification and the former need not. That has been confirmed by Garmin push-out of their Nuviphone. It won't be available until next year and iPhone is offering GPS capability NOW. Garmin has been squeezed into niche if not low-end market. They just lowered their guidance for the whole year. I would expect much worse Christmas season since by then most smartphone will have GPS capability.
Has Garmin Lost Its Direction? [View article]