Garmin Mobile™ Application To Offer New Features On BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile Smartphones
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the
global leader in satellite navigation, announced today upgrades to
Garmin Mobile that include a new user-friendly interface and Google
Local™ search. These upgrades will be available on a variety of handsets
and platforms including BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile
smartphones. These new features are in addition to a long list of rich
features and real-time content included with Garmin Mobile’s current
subscription based service that includes turn-by-turn, voice prompted
directions, as well as traffic, weather conditions and forecasts, fuel
prices and more. Garmin will display the Garmin Mobile enhancements at
its CTIA Wireless trade show booth (#6639) in Las Vegas, Nevada, April
1-3, 2008.
When the new Garmin Mobile application is launched, customers will first
notice the new nüvi-like interface, with “Where To?” and “View Map”
icons on the smartphone display. Once “Where To?” is selected, colorful
icons such as “Address,” “Recent Finds,” “Food and Hotel” and “Google
Local” streamline the number of keystrokes required before selecting a
destination and receiving
turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions. If a turn is missed en route,
Garmin Mobile automatically recalculates the route based on the user’s
current location. Garmin Mobile has an extensive points of interest
database – places like hotels, restaurants, ATMs, gas stations,
airports, and more – thanks to the over six-million integrated points of
interest and Google Local search. Garmin Mobile is also integrated with
the phone’s address book so that users can navigate directly to a
contact’s address stored on their smartphone.
The Google Local search capability lets users harness points of interest
information via the World Wide Web. It allows users to look for
locations by typing in key word searches as they would if they were on
their desktop computer. If looking for a coffee shop with free Wi Fi
access, simply type the phrase in the search box and a list of venues
will appear based on proximity to the user’s current location. In
addition, Garmin has created a “quick search” feature that lets users
search Google Local via categories – such as food, lodging, fuel, and
more – rather than typing a word or phrase into the Google Local search
box. Detailed information can be displayed including descriptions,
business address & phone numbers, and a user-contributed rating, where
applicable. Once the user selects a location, they can save the
destination to their favorites folder, call the destination, or navigate
to it with Garmin’s intuitive turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions.
In addition to navigation, Garmin Mobile includes free access to
constantly-updating information like real-time traffic, fuel prices,
weather forecasts, and more.
Since Garmin Mobile is a subscription based solution, mapping data is
stored on Garmin’s servers, not on the device itself. Therefore,
customers have the advantage of the most up-to-date mapping information
available directly from Garmin’s servers. In order to access Garmin’s
network, the smartphone must have a data plan for network access.
The newest version of Garmin Mobile is rolling-out on BlackBerry,
Symbian and Windows Mobile OS smartphones in July 2008. For more
information about Garmin Mobile, visit www.garmin.com/mobilephones.
About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN),
the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of
companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation,
communication and information devices and applications – most of which
are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive,
mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM
applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its
principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the
United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom
at www.garmin.com/pressroom
or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is a
registered trademark, and Garmin Mobile is a trademark of Garmin Ltd. or
its subsidiaries.
Google and Google Local are trademarks of Google Inc. All other brands,
product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the
properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on forward-looking statements
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd.
and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product
introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based
on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and
circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results
could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors
and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the
risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 29, 2007, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form
10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.