TomTom and Garmin to launch GPS PDA phones soon

Rumours see satnav handsets this year

14 September 2007 10:32 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

DigiTimes, the Taiwanese tech paper always good for a few scurrilous rumours, has it that some major satnav brands are about to venture into the phone market.

According to their sources in the manufacturing world, we can expect GPS PDA phones from both TomTom and Garmin before the end of the year.

HP, O2 and i-mate are also planning new models, Nokia is getting busy with some smartphones with in-built GPS and HTC, E-Ten and Mio are about to loose a slew of new PDA devices in the Taiwanese market, the report also states.

Fujitsu Siemens recently exited the PDA market, despite their established Loox range already having a foothold in the market stating: "The traditional Handheld segment (PDA) is shrinking since years. More and more players are leaving this field".

The DigiTimes story reflects this: "However, most international handset vendors are not so enthusiastic about the GPS PDA handsets as the Taiwan makers, stated the sources".

Smartphones with in-built GPS are seen to be the way to go, rather than down the PDA route, so it will be interesting to see if these rumours play out, and if they do, how successful the results will be.