Garmin® Enters In-Car Infotainment Market with Factory-Installed Suzuki System
OLATHE, Kan./April 2, 2012/Business Wire — Garmin® International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced that it will provide a fully integrated, factory-installed infotainment system for most American 2013 model year Suzuki vehicles. Garmin’s infotainment system combines a 6.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen display with a full-featured infotainment platform, including AM/FM/CD radio, multi-media playback, backup camera support, Bluetooth® hands-free connectivity, Pandora® internet radio and Garmin’s award-winning navigation. The intuitive user interface with advanced voice control makes it easy to operate the system and switch between functions. The Garmin infotainment system will be on display at the Suzuki booth (#1507) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at the New York International Auto Show during the press days (April 4-5, 2012).
“We’re pleased to extend our cooperation with Suzuki Motor Corporation by providing our fully integrated infotainment platform that goes beyond GPS navigation and provides a whole range of information and entertainment functions,” said Matt Munn, Garmin’s managing director automotive OEM. “By leveraging our long-standing experience in developing navigation software, user interfaces and hardware design, we created an integrated system that is easy to use and makes driving more enjoyable.”
Garmin’s Suzuki system includes the following functionalities:
Media and music integration: Music and media is integrated in multiple ways, providing users a wide range of options to choose from. This includes an integrated AM/FM radio and CD player as well as several interfaces that allow user to play music from external devices such as a mobile phone or iPod, including a USB and AUX jack, Bluetooth and a SD card slot. Also included is an integration with Pandora (via a connected smartphone[1]) that allows users to easily browse and select their personalized radio stations, skip a track or give a song a thumbs-up or down.
Navigation: The system integrates Garmin’s intuitive and award-winning navigation, providing premium road guidance with spoken turn-by-turn directions and street names, PhotoReal Junction View with lane guidance, optional traffic via TMC, speed limit and current speed displays, millions of points of interest, a customizable data menu and many other features. The navigation system has access to vehicle speed sensors to provide precise location information even when a GPS signal is not available, for example in tunnels. When switching to other menus, such as the music player, navigation directions will continue and visual cues will be displayed at the top of the screen. Map updates can easily be downloaded to a SD card from a Garmin Web portal.
Full voice control: Users can control the system with voice commands, which helps reduce driver distraction. This includes all the integrated functions, such as navigation, radio, CD player and Pandora. Garmin’s one-shot address entry technology allows user to speak a full address at once without going through multiple steps. Additionally, the system includes steering wheel control buttons on selected vehicles to activate voice recognition or directly control certain functions, such as the volume, switching between radio stations or accepting and ending calls.
Connected services: Real-time information, such as traffic, dynamic parking, weather and fuel prices, will be available through Garmin Smartphone Link[2]. This app can easily link an Android phone to the Suzuki infotainment system via Bluetooth. It utilizes the existing data connection of a smartphone to bring live services to the vehicle, so users don’t have to pay for an extra data plan.
Backup camera support: When backing up, the system automatically displays the backup camera on the screen, so drivers get a better view of what’s behind the vehicle.
Hands-free Bluetooth: The integrated Bluetooth calling function allows users to make calls hands free. A phone can easily be synced via Bluetooth and then controlled with voice commands.
The hardware of the Suzuki infotainment system is designed and built by Garmin and includes a 6.1-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth, an AM/FM tuner, a CD player, a USB and an AUX jack, a SD card slot and internal flash memory. Garmin’s infotainment system will be available for selected Suzuki vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, Europe, North America and Russia.
Garmin’s automotive OEM business segment provides a broad range of in-vehicle electronics for the automotive industry, including automotive grade infotainment and telematics systems, navigation software, location-based services, and integrated portable navigation systems. Garmin has agreements with leading brands in the automotive sector such as BMW, Chrysler, Honda, Kenwood, Panasonic, Suzuki and Toyota, among others.
About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at http://www8.garmin.com/company/newsroom/ or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd.
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Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-K is available at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
[1] At this time, the Suzuki system’s Pandora integration supports iOS devices. The feature is available in the U.S. only.
[2] The Smartphone Link feature will be added to the system with an update after the initial launch. Garmin Smartphone Link is available at no cost in the Android Market and includes several free live services as well as premium content available through subscriptions.