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I used to work for the Dutch electronics company Philips in their medical systems division. That was many years ago, but I have always followed the Philips brand products as they were introduced into the United States. They have always manufactured quality products for both high- and low-end consumers. That is why I was interested to see that they have announced they will be entering the GPS locator market.

The announcement was made today and is being reported by both Reuters News and PC Magazine. This is an interesting move for Philips, given that the GPS locator gaining the most attention in the United States, TomTom, is also a Dutch product. (Remember the ad, "DougDoug, do I turn here? DougDoug, is the pool here?"). Initial release is scheduled for October of this year in Germany, France, and the Benelux countries. The price will be an estimated $500.00 street value. Philips’ entry into this market follows a similar move by Sony earlier this year.

Another competitor in any market can be beneficial to consumers. Increased competition should lead to lower prices. Hopefully this competition will continue to this side of the Atlantic, and we will see a wider selection of devices with correspondingly lower prices.

Richard Cunningham (82 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook