Garmin-Asus To Split As Consumer Indifference Sinks In

"Down dooby-do down down," sang Neil Sedaka, "breaking up is hard to do."  Fitting words for Garmin-Asus today, who have apparently confirmed their intent to dissolve the current partnership come January 2011.  Afterward, ASUS will resume sole branding of its handset business, while Garmin will be able to spread its PND services to a wider range of devices and companies.

One of those companies will continue to be ASUS, who will apparently continue using Garmin's location-based services apps for models in its range.  Nonetheless, Garmin will be free to attempt to rekindle working relationships with companies like Sony Ericsson and LG, whom it supplied prior to the Garmin-Asus deal.

The two companies announced their plans to work in partnership back in February 2008, with Garmin at the time riding high on the promise of the much-anticipated nuvifone.  Production and software delays – together with a scattershot approach to which mobile OS to adopt – meant that handset arrived only after significant delays and to mediocre reviews.  Since then, devices have failed to find their feet among more high-profile rivals.