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Mio closes US offices
 Our friends at GPSBusinessNews broke the story last week that Mio were closing the doors on their US business.
Mio have now responded on their corporate web-site clarifying the situation. Whilst they are indeed closing their US offices they are not abandoning the US marketplace and will continue to sell Mio devices in the US.
The rather cryptically worded press release copied in full below says they will offer their products in "selected channels" and will also launch new products next month.
However, despite the official statement, what is clear is that Mio are struggling to offer an innovative product in the face of fierce competition.
Mio bought Magellan last year hoping to take advantage of its US presence and Navman for it's strong brand but both purchases have proved unsuccessful. Staff have been laid off at the former UK offices and sales of Navman devices have nose dived following the acquisition.
The full press release:
"In response to the article published in GPS Business News entitled “Mio closing business in the US” on April 3, 2009, Mio announced that the company will continue the sales in the North American market. Mio will offer products in selected channels and launch new products in May. Mio emphasize that the company will also continue to deliver sleek, easy-to-use portable navigation devices to the market, and also accelerate the development of a variety of innovative GPS-based lifestyle products that extend the user experience well beyond traditional PNDs."
http://www.mio.com
| Comments
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 Posted by gatorguy6996 on Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:02 pm |
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Darren, in reading Mio's response, I think the "new models" they refer to may actually be under the Magellan moniker, with 5 new Roadmates announced this week. All use their new One-Touch (iGo8?) interface, with the largest and most expensive model the 1470, already available as an Amazon exclusive model. With a 4.7" screen, free traffic with the purchase of a receiver cable (free till the end of the month, then about $80 for the cable), but no Bluetooth, it's a bit of an odd duck IMO.
Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr. |
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| Posted by Darren on Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:38 pm |
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Won't be IGO. NavNGo and Mio fell out a while back.
Darren Griffin |
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| Posted by gatorguy6996 on Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:42 pm |
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The Magellan 4350 I beta-tested sure appeared to be iGo based, tho I've never confirmed it. The new roadmates look to have the same interface as the 43xx from the screenshots I've seen.
Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr. |
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| Posted by Darren on Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:03 pm |
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Hmm, could be a hangover deal from pre Mitac purchase then. I forget the details now but NavNGo pulled the plug because of continual breach of contract.
Darren Griffin |
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| Posted by gatorguy6996 on Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:11 pm |
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Yes, I remember that. I think there's still an active lawsuit involved, or at least I never saw any notice that it had been settled.
Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr. |
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| Posted by gatorguy6996 on Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:52 pm |
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Darren, I just saw a post indicating that, unlike the 4300's, the new Roadmates announced are definitely NOT iGo-sourced for their One-Touch interface. The poster is a friend of mine and has had excellent inside contacts with Magellan for years. I consider him extremely reliable. So you were correct, I was wrong.
"This is a TRUE Magellan U.I, it is their own back-end and not from iGO/ NNG. They brought back most use of freeways, least use of freeways options, they brought back the chime "DING" just before the turn etc.. . . "
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Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr. |
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