Garmin buys UPS AT...

Lenny Sawyer wrote in message ...
Big news...
http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/corporate/072403b.html



The Customer Suffers wrote in message ...
I'd expect prices to soon go thru the roof, now that they have the
monopoly over the aviation GPS market.


From: http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/corporate/072403b.html

"UPS Aviation Technologies, headquartered in Salem, Ore., designs and
manufactures multiple lines of communications, navigation and surveillance
products for general aviation and air transport customers. The company
employs about 150 people"

Garmin buys a company of 150 people and you think they have dominated an
entire industry?

On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 20:09:31 -0400, Roy Smith wrote:

For primary IFR navigation, sure you need an up to date database.
Especially for approaches. But for emergency backup? Hardly.

"Neal" wrote in message
...

If you use one for even just VFR, you really need current airport
identifiers. In the past year and a half, there's been about a half
dozen or more airport identifier changes and/or airports that have
closed completely, within a hundred miles of my home base.

In an emergency in unfamiliar territory when you hit that NRST button
and it steers you towards that airport that shows to be in gliding
range, and you turn that direction and establish your glide only to
find a brand new neighborhood full of freshly built houses instead of
a runway...

Seems like another good reason *not* to use the NRST button!

In an engine failure situation, you probably still have your panel
equipment, and you certainly still have your situational awareness and chart
to tell you about suitable emergency landing spots.

I think the sort of emergency Roy is thinking of is a total electrical
failure in IMC. In that case you just need well established waypoints to
get you where you were intending to go. A handheld GPS with an outdated
database does a pretty good job of that.

Julian Scarfe

Neal wrote:


In an emergency in unfamiliar territory when you hit that NRST button
and it steers you towards that airport that shows to be in gliding
range, and you turn that direction and establish your glide only to
find a brand new neighborhood full of freshly built houses instead of
a runway...

Well stated. Even in an emergency you're required to use *current*
information appropriate to the PIC's intended course of action. How current
the database needs to be as to airport information is a question that would
only be answered by the arm-chair quarterbacks.~

"Lenny Sawyer" wrote in message
...
Big news...
http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/corporate/072403b.html

The best part is, you'll get to buy superior technology from people you
already like.

"Craig Davidson" wrote:
Garmin buys a company of 150 people and you think they have dominated an
entire industry?

Industry? No. But the field of GA GPS? Absolutely. When it comes to
GPS receivers for general aviation, Garmin and UPS are not just #1 and
#2, there really isn't a #3. King, Lowrance, and Northstar are all
pretty much non-players at this point. Collins makes great hardware,
but not for the GA market.

This is the kind of merger the FTC would normally disallow on anti-trust
grounds. Imagine Coke buying Pepsi. On the other hand, the market is
so small, I doubt the FTC cares much.

"Roy Smith" wrote:
Garmin buys a company of 150 people and you think they have dominated an
entire industry?

Industry? No. But the field of GA GPS? Absolutely. When it comes to
GPS receivers for general aviation, Garmin and UPS are not just #1 and
#2, there really isn't a #3. King, Lowrance, and Northstar are all
pretty much non-players at this point.

True.

The more I think about this, the less I like it. Garmin will now have about
as much competition in this market as Microsoft does in pc OS's. shudder
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Lenny Sawyer wrote:

Big news...
http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/corporate/072403b.html


Almost sounds like a joke. Of only three real players, two GPS makers just merged.

--
For most men, true happiness can only be achieved with a woman.
Also for most men, true happiness can only be achieved without a woman.
Sharp minds have noted that these two rules tend to conflict.....

Jonathan Goodish wrote:

In article ,
"Dave Stadt" wrote:
"Dennis O'Connor" wrote in message
...
If you can't beat em - buy em!

In this case it was......If you can't beat em - sell out to em.


It would appear that UPSAT had technology that Garmin did not, which
would indicate to me that Garmin was the technological underdog. If
there was nothing there for Garmin, they wouldn't have bothered with the
aquisition.

JKG

Or you could be a cynic and say that Garmin didn't like UPS offering
plates and better display colors, so now they won't have to.

--
For most men, true happiness can only be achieved with a woman.
Also for most men, true happiness can only be achieved without a woman.
Sharp minds have noted that these two rules tend to conflict.....

The Customer Suffers wrote:

I'd expect prices to soon go thru the roof, now that they have the
monopoly over the aviation GPS market.

The CNX80 was clearly designed to be a 430 knockoff, so there is just
as clearly going to be a product line reduction. However, Garmin would
be nuts to kill the better display capabilities, WAAS and plate displays
UPS has done, because that would create a bad impression with its customers.

Everyone agrees that the 430/530 series is a nice unit, but it was not
the technological best. THe color display is limited, there is no WAAS
solution, no approach plate solution, no terrain, no airway, and on and
on. Garmin won partially on price (yes, having an all in one unit IS
dramatically cheaper to install), partially on being first with the most,
and very much on customer service, which in my mind is the best in the
business. In short, Garmin is not your father's monopolistic company,
and big complacent companies in avionics DO fail, just look at King.

If Garmin wants to be the new King, they will use the chance to kill
better UPS products. If not, they will kill the CNX80 and push the high
end UPS stuff, then revamp the GNS line quickly to cover everything
UPS had going.

I highly suspect that Garmin is just getting started, so I think it will
be the latter. Garmin will be the leader in WAAS, ADS-B when it becomes
real, and probally displays as well.

--
For most men, true happiness can only be achieved with a woman.
Also for most men, true happiness can only be achieved without a woman.
Sharp minds have noted that these two rules tend to conflict.....

wrote:

The Customer Suffers wrote:

I'd expect prices to soon go thru the roof, now that they have the
monopoly over the aviation GPS market.

I think you meant to say light aircraft GPS market. No high end biz
jets or airliners have Garmin equipment. Compared to what the big boys
use, the Garmin 530 is a stubborn toy.

Bull*hit. The airliners all want their new equipment to look and act just
like an FMS so they don't have to retrain. Garmin has traction with high
end light airplanes, and thats just as it should be. When/if garmin makes
airline equipment, their light airplane lines will go downhill.

--
For most men, true happiness can only be achieved with a woman.
Also for most men, true happiness can only be achieved without a woman.
Sharp minds have noted that these two rules tend to conflict.....