Navstar headed by a management team that held past positions at Sprint, Onfiber, Lucent, and GTE has designed a line of PND’s Portable Navigation Devices targeted at consumers and commercial customers. Their headquarters are located in Overland Park, Kansas and all products are outsourced to Musical Electronics Ltd, which is based out of Hong Kong. The Beta product has been tested and manufactured, Navstar now sits ready to penetrate their target markets.
Navstar will sell The Voice Navigator™ for $149 to $169 per unit and will market to retail consumers as well as commercial customers. This product is unique because it is based on a thin client/server product technology. When plugged into the cigarette lighter socket, users can operate the device by their voice and the device is connected with a cell phone can provide communication between it and the company’s server. This also enables real-time information to be downloaded to the device through the phone. These can be huge advantages in real estate, trucking and other industries. The Voice Navigator™ has been designed so that single designs can be marketed to all target markets with ability to customize for different applications. It is also the lowest priced product within its market. Later this year Navstar will release a Bluetooth enabled device that they believe will have a disruptive impact on the industry.
They believe there is a tremendous potential market for the product which includes the 200 million cell phone users in the US, and a recent survey conducted found 90% of 1000 cell phone users surveyed would be interested in purchasing a PND under $500. What is so unique about Navstar’s product again is the customizability, enabling it to be targeted at wide range of markets. The company is currently pursuing direct sales with major commercial businesses and distribution agreements with Best Buy, Circuit City, QVC and Radio Shack.
Competition within the GPS device market is fierce but Navstar feels its unique product features and low price point put them in an advantageous position within this emerging industry. At this time Navstar has no knowledge of anyone with the product capabilities of the Voice Navigator™. Its main competitors are Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, and Tom-Tom as well a handful of other Major companies that are delving into the PND market. The PND market is experiencing rapid growth, up 168% over the past 4 years. It’s expected to continue to grow in the US and Europe. This leaves Navstar perfectly situated in this soaring market with a High quality, Low cost product.
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