Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Trimble Navigation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David who wrote (2616)	7/21/1998 5:51:00 PM
From: David	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3506

Car navigation market . . . . Onstar news: In 1997 (TRMB's year), Onstar was being marketed to Cadillac dealers for $895 for the hardware, and they had to install it themselves. In 1998 (Motorola's year), it is being bundled with installation costs, with an average total of $1300. But it is marketed to the public at varying costs, from $1,100 to $2,000, plus, of course, monthly charges of about $22. Onstar now has 26,000 subscribers. [Sounds like a $2 or $3 million a year GPS revenue generator.] Onstar will be offered on Saabs sold in the US, starting next fall, and GM intends to market Onstar in Europe and, eventually, globally. RESCU news: Ford's RESCU is in operation in 7000 cars. Next year's price is anticipated to be for less than $1,000 . . . not including monthly charges. Other US telematics: The Department of Transportation is starting to field test (in Buffalo) a telematics black box that will, with the addition of a cellular phone, be able to call 911 for help in the case of a serious accident. It does not require air bag deployment to be activated, unlike Onstar and RESCU. The aim here is to have it available in about five years for a price of $200 to $300, exclusive of cellular phone costs. [I think you can get 911-only cellular service free under government regulations.] Chrysler: [This is pre-merger news] Generally antipathetic towards IT applications, including GPS, Chrysler has had some connection with hand-held Magellan products in its Jeeps and off-road vehicles, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. I believe Daimler, Chrysler's new senior partner, has TRMB connections. Magellan: Magellan will be coming out this year with "an advanced driver information system ASIC . . . that takes 18 integrated circuits down to one postage-stamp size chip." Per Automotive Industries June 1998. [If Magellan didn't do something along these lines, they would be out of the car navigation business for good.] Overall car nav market, year 2001: According to Dataquest, there will be a $1 billion semiconductor market in that year, with 7.7 million vehicles with GPS being produced. There are presently 50 million cars manufactured in the world each year. According to David Hall, a Trimble VP, in year 2001, 77% of GPS car nav systems will be made in Japan (5.9 million), 17% in Europe (1.3 million) and, I infer, only about 6% in the US (less than 500,000). I don't know how the Microsoft effort plays into those calculations, though.