It could also backup the aircraft's built-in instrumentation with groundspeed, heading, and altitude readings. Garmin International, the U. Its offices had previously been housed in four separate buildings. Garmin turned its attention to the automotive market in the late s with two hand-held units. This device displayed the position of the driver and destination on the map.
Garmin brought out the StreetPilot in March Garmin's next project was a waterproof mobile phone with a GPS receiver and map display built in called NavTalk. The company also expanded beyond GPS products in its aviation-related products, introducing a Mode C transponder a device for communicating a plane's position to air traffic controllers and an intercom. The company soon doubled the size of its Kansas plant to , square feet.
It also had manufacturing operations in Taiwan and a sales office in England. Through a process called Selective Availability, the Department of Defense limited the accuracy of commercial uses of GPS technology to prevent the devices from being used to guide weapons. However, this policy was cancelled in May , improving the unit's accuracy from meters to less than ten meters. Flush with cash, the company continued to spend significantly on research and development and introduced two dozen new products in However, both the aviation market and the overall economy experienced a downturn following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Garmin's product line had expanded considerably in the previous dozen years. Consumer products then accounted for three-quarters of sales; Garmin had a new agreement to have them distributed at Target and Circuit City stores in the United States. International sales were also very important.
Garmin had had manufacturing facilities in Taiwan for several years. The company had also patented its "Rino" walkie-talkies Radios Integrated with Navigation for the Outdoors with integrated map and GPS features, including the ability to report the position of other radios on each user's map. Co-founder Gary Burrell retired as co-CEO on August 24, , his sixty-fifth birthday; he remained co-chairman and a director of the company.
The company then employed 1, people around the world, a little less than half of them at its operating headquarters in Olathe, Kansas. According to Investor's Business Daily, Garmin had a 50 percent or better market share in the consumer segment of the GPS market, which accounted for three-quarters of the company's revenues. It controlled 80 percent of the aviation market and was also quite popular among boaters and hikers. This was evidenced by new offerings from Cobra Electronics Inc.
The next step saw the combining of a handheld personal digital assistant PDA with GPS technology, allowing users to receive turn-by-turn directions to contacts listed in their address books. The combined handheld unit, called the iQue , used the popular Palm operating system and was introduced at a January trade show.
The device had "voice guidance" to give users spoken directions while driving as well as a full color map. The Outdoor segment involves portable GPS receivers and accessories that include lightweight training assistants for athletes, integrated personal training systems designed for cyclists, handheld GPS navigators with built-in mapping, handheld two-way family radio service and general mobile service, outdoor handheld devices for hunters, hikers, geocachers and outdoors enthusiasts, handheld GPS for golfers, and GPS-enabled dog tracking system.
The Fitness segment offers compact, lightweight training assistants for athletes with an integrated GPS sensor, Garmin connect mobile applications and Garmin Swim. The company was founded in July and is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
In , Gary Burrell recruited Min H. Kao from a defense contractor Magnavox while working for the former King Radio. The company later received its name Garmin , composed of the first names of its two founders.
In , it got the U. Army as the first customer. He is now chairmanemeritus. Kao became CEO in , and chairman in By Garmin had sold three million GPS devices, and was producing 50 different models. Its products were sold in countries and carried by 2, independent distributors. As of 22 August , the company held 35 patents on GPS technology. By the end of June , the company employed 1, people: in the United States, in Taiwan, and 29 in the United Kingdom. At that time Burrell owned 19,, shares.
Kao owned 20,, shares. Together their holdings accounted for 45 percent of the stock in Garmin. The acquired company changed its name to Garmin AT, Inc. Digital Cyclone Inc DCI , located in Chanhassen, Minnesota, provides mobile weather solutions for consumers, pilots, and outdoor enthusiasts.
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