After two years of partnership, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Garmin Ltd, the US’ No. 1 portable navigation devices maker, are calling it quits.
Asustek, the world’s No. 5 PC brand, yesterday confirmed that both parties agreed to scrap their “co-branding” strategy starting from next year.
That means consumers will no longer find smartphones that bear the “Garmin-Asus” logo in the future because Garmin has decided to pull out of the smartphone business, Asustek corporate vice president Benson Lin (林宗樑) told a media briefing.
“Navigation smartphones need more time to take off ... We are not keeping up with industry changes and are losing competitiveness,” Lin said.
Ending the co-branding partnership will allow the companies to “focus on [their] respective core competencies,” he said.
Asustek and Garmin teamed up in January last year to introduce co-branded smartphones, with Asustek managing the hardware and Garmin supplying the navigation solutions.
The two companies had plans to officially launch a joint venture this year to enhance the partnership, but the idea was scrapped after sales of Garmin-Asus phones hit a snag in the US amid strong competition from Apple’s iPhone and the wide availability of Google Maps in other smartphones, Lin said.
After the split, Asustek will market handhelds carrying the “Asus” logo, and Garmin will offer exclusive rights to its navigation software to Asustek’s Android-based smartphones “for a few years,” he said, declining to detail the licensing terms.
The split also means Garmin will be able to market its navigation solutions on other app markets for non-Android-based handsets. These include Apple Inc’s App Store and Research In Motion Ltd’s App World.
Garmin’s Dutch rival TomTom NV is selling navigation apps on App Store for US$49.99 for Hong Kong users, US$89.99 for West European users and US$59.99 for US users.
If consumers just get a Garmin-Asus phone, they won’t be able to realize the hidden values offered by Garmin solutions, Lin added.
The two partners had launched six Garmin-Asus smartphones over the last two years, mostly to lukewarm reception. Asustek’s earlier target to ship 1 million smartphones this year remains challenging, analysts said.
The company is hoping that its recent foray into TD-SCDMA phones for the Chinese market will bear fruit and help expand sales.
Lin said Asustek would launch two models running on China’s proprietary 4G standard by the end of the year, adding that the firm was in talks to bundle phone sales through China Mobile Ltd (中國移動), the world’s largest mobile operator by number of subscribers.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS