Google’s (GOOG) Maps Navigation May Hit GPS Handset Makers

With Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) having introduced Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, this may hurt GPS Personal Navigation Device (PND) sellers like Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) and TomTom NV (AMS: TOM2). Equally affected may be other handset producers.

Once Google starts expanding the Google Maps Navigation offerings to outside US, then, sales of Nokia Corporation’s (NYSE: NOK) GPS enabled handsets may also take a knock. Industry analysts feel that this will pull down the prices of entry level PNDs. This could happen as early as the 4th quarter of the current year. The prices for entry level models could be $69. Garmin, the world’s largest PND vendor, is ready with entry level PNDs that are priced between $99 - $119. These could be available by the end of this month.