This story was stolen from gpsmagazine.com
Here is my two cents. For those who don't know, Garmin is the industry leader on GPS units. I for one own the Zumo 450 which was made specifically for motorcycles. They are a bit pricey but worth every penny. If Microsoft buys out Garmin, it is only a matter time before we are riding down the street and our GPS has the Blue Screen of Death. Please reboot. Bill Gates may be rich but stay off of my maps.
Here is the rest of the story....
Take this one with the requisite large grain of salt, but rumors are flying that Microsoft is looking into buying Garmin -- news that sent Garmin's stock up 5.1 percent today. Neither Microsoft nor Garmin are confirming the rumors, but they're not denying them either...
A Microsoft buyout might make a lot of sense for Garmin, who could be staring down the barrel of a bleak future if Nokia decides to deny them access to NAVTEQ's maps.
The Microsoft-Garmin acquisition rumor comes just days after Nokia agreed to purchase U.S. mapping provider NAVTEQ for $8.1 billion. Tele Atlas, the only real competition to NAVTEQ, is currently in the process of being acquired by Dutch-based GPS maker TomTom.
Garmin uses NAVTEQ's mapping data on almost all of its GPS units, including the popular nuvi line. With NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas representing almost 100% of available digital mapping content, Garmin could be in real trouble if TomTom (Tele Atlas) and Nokia (NAVTEQ) play hardball and keep the mapping data for themselves. A Microsoft buyout would virtually guarantee Garmin continued access to NAVTEQ's mapping data, and could give Microsoft's handheld platform the location based kick in the pants its been looking for.
Some analysts have speculated that Garmin missed the boat by not buying NAVTEQ months ago. Still, Garmin is expected to report strong 3Q earnings at the end of October.
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