Last week we reported a rumor that said Garmin and Asus may be ending their partnership in early 2011. Today, we’re hearing more reports about the break-up and a more official announcement may be made tomorrow. Word is that Garmin may just close its smartphone business and continue on with making navigation devices.
According to Reuters:
“The smartphone market is seeing huge growth, but the Garmin-Asus alliance has, to date, delivered disappointing volumes,” said Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd.
Garmin will now likely seek to close its own smartphone business as it has indicated it is ready to do, Shepherd said.
Neither company would comment, but it’s safe to say that it seems very likely that the Garmin’s partnership with Asus will come to an end as the latter continues its efforts in the mobile space.
The Garminfone, which launched this Spring, was a decent handset but didn’t sell too well. It was released with then-antiquated software (Android 1.6) and its price was lowered very quickly soon after launch – a good indicator of just how unsuccessful it was to start.
[Via: Reuters]