"Recalculating …"
The voice I like to call the Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) Lady has to say that a lot when I'm behind the wheel. Sometimes I imagine she sounds a little huffy when she's "recalculating," since I either stubbornly went a different way or stupidly missed a turn. Of course, she holds no grudges: She'll just go ahead and recalculate the route from wherever I go.
I love my Garmin. And given economic pressures like the high price of gas, you'd think people would love these devices even more -- getting lost doesn't do much for conserving gas, nor does sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic when you could find a wide-open detour. You'd think people would be more into Garmin than ever.
Instead, Garmin's stock shows a drop of nearly 56% in the past six months alone. There were plenty of groans for Garmin on last quarter's results.
This might sound like an ideal time to buy the stock, but not so fast, Fool. Garmin's getting squeezed on the competitive front. In addition to facing TomTom and other navigation gadgets, Garmin must also contend with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which recently announced a cheaper iPhone and better GPS navigation software.
And what about smartphone makers like Motorola (NYSE:MOT), Palm (NASDAQ:PALM), and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM)? Good grief, Garmin even plans a phone of its own, despite the competition.
Do you think Garmin has lost its competitive advantage in the blink of an eye? Or is simply a temporary glitch? Is the "nuviphone" a big, dumb waste of Garmin's time and money when there are already way cool phones out there, most visibly the iPhone?
Are we all really sure people actually like the idea of fiddling with -- and looking at -- phones while they're driving? (I kind of like how the Garmin Lady tells me where to turn.) Don't forget, there are laws in plenty of states that actually forbid phone-fiddling while driving a massive piece of machinery at high speeds. Go figure.
What do you think? Where will Garmin’s stock be six months from now? Do you think the "nuviphone" has a chance, or will it be overcome by its shiny counterparts? Type in your Foolish thoughts in the comment box below. Until then … Recalculating.
