Mio Technology the Taiwan-based GPS navigation device maker are expected and which we hope will happen earlier rather than later to expand their product mix to include 3G GPS PDA phones in the second half of 2008 according to sources.
Mio are moving forward and their move is a countermeasure against what seems to be a strategy adopted by a number of handset vendors which include High Tech Computer (HTC), E-Ten Information Systems, Asustek Computer and BenQ.
These companies above have all extended their smartphone product lines which are to include 3G GPS smartphones and now it seems MIO are coming in on the act. Mio’s 3G GPS PDA mobile phone will hopefully be built using the 3.5G platform from Qualcomm and will also feature integrated application services including photo navigation, LBS (location base service) and TMC (traffic message channel).
So does this mean rivals GPS vendor Garmin have indeed been seeking cooperation with handset makers?