Garminfone Sales Slow, Says Analyst
File this one under “expected”: the Garminfone sold through T-Mobile hasn’t got off to the hottest start since its launch back in June, with analyst Yair Reiner estimating only about 20,000 units have moved off the shelves. Reiner, who works with Morgan Keegan, surveyed 50 T-Mobile stores and came to the conclusion that most sold no more than five Garminfone handsets. Considering it’s “legacy” version of Android 1.6, niche market for a full-blown navigation phone, and other Android phones offered through T-Mobile that already ship with Google Maps and Navigation anyway, this one shouldn’t come as too much of a shocker.
Reiner points out that many stores didn’t devote display space to the Garminfone initially, which no doubt had an adverse effect on sales. Couple that with poor marketing and you have all the ingredients for one flop of a phone. Will the poor start for Garmin’s Android endeavours cause them to reconsider their options in the future when it comes to combo GPS device/smartphone devices?
[via Cellular-News]