Personal fitness GPS products could be a possible growth market for struggling PND companies. A new report from ABI Research is forecasting that the personal fitness GPS market could soon surpass 10 million units. Products such as the Garmin Forerunner 610 have helped its Outdoor and Fitness division deliver 27% of the company’s operating income last year, ABI said, and that growth continued into 2011 when the company recorded a 25% increase in fitness sales during the second quarter. “Garmin remains by far the dominant player in this expanding market, with over 90% of the market share, but it will face some new emerging competition,” telematics and navigation senior analyst Patrick Connolly said. The industry growth has been spurred by other companies too, including Citizen, Casio and Polar, among others. “There has also been a dearth of health/fitness devices launched on the market in 1H11, from companies such as Basis, Fitbit, Jawbone, Bodymedia, Philips and Hitachi,” said ABI Telematics and navigation practice director Dominique Bonte “Many have indicated that GPS is part of their future plans.” Mobile devices have also helped drive sales of personal fitness GPS applications, and ABI Research noted the success of Nike, Runkeeper and MapMyRun. Read on for the full press release.

Garmin, Citizen, and Casio Have Their Sights Set On the 10 Million Unit Fitness GPS Market

The Launch of Nike/TomTom’s GPS fitness watch has given the market the shot in the arm it needed, with new devices, applications, and companies helping to drive forecasts for fitness GPS shipments beyond the 10 million mark.

Garmin has responded to the challenge positively with the latest edition of its Forerunner series, the 610, a watch featuring slim line ergonomics and responsive touch user interface. Garmin’s Outdoor and Fitness division delivered 27% of the company’s total operating income for 2010, and saw a 25% increase in fitness sales for 2Q11. Telematics and navigation senior analyst Patrick Connolly said, “Garmin remains by far the dominant player in this expanding market, with over 90% of the market share, but it will face some new emerging competition.”

Polar, Citizen, and Casio have also made announcements around new GPS fitness devices. Polar launched its RCX5 training computer, which features a GPS accessory. Citizen has also taken steps to integrate GPS into its watches with the Appleseed. Although the watch has no clear fitness application and clocks in at over $4000, the GPS technology is expected to filter into future watch lines. Additionally, Casio announced its prototype watch that features Bluetooth 4.0 for smartphone synching. It has stated that it plans to incorporate public transport and fitness functionality via GPS in the near future.

Fitness remains a key segment at the major application stores. Companies like Runkeeper, Nike, and MapMyRun continue to attract new users and investigate new business models. Telematics and navigation practice director Dominique Bonte said, “There has also been a dearth of health/fitness devices launched on the market in 1H11, from companies such as Basis, Fitbit, Jawbone, Bodymedia, Philips and Hitachi. Many have indicated that GPS is part of their future plans.”

ABI Research’s study, “Recreational, Outdoor, and Fitness GPS Solutions,” compares the hardware and mobile application revenue for key GPS sports, outdoor, and fitness markets, illustrating how these will evolve together.

It is part of the firm’s Location Platforms and Enablers Research Service which also includes other Research Reports, Surveys, Market Data products, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.

Not a bad day to be an Android-loving Verizon Wireless customer. The nation’s largest wireless carrier has made two new handsets available: the sleek HTC DROID Incredible 2 and the ruggedized Casio G’zOne Commando. Both handsets run Android 2.2 (Froyo) and will retail for $199.99 with a signed 2-year contract. A third handset, the Samsung DROID Charge, is scheduled for release today as well… however, our inbox is littered with tips stating that the device will not hit store shelves today due to yesterday’s nationwide LTE outage. We’ve reached out to Verizon Wireless for comment and will update this post with any relevant information provided.

Our friendly FedEx man was kind enough to deliver us the soon-to-be-released Casio G’zOne Commando from Verizon Wireless. Unlike most full-touchscreen smartphones, this Android 2.2.1 device is designed to be abused. The Commando meets military standards 810G for immersion, rain, and shock, dust resistance, vibration, salt fog, humidity, solar radiation, altitude, along with low and high temperature storage.  The handset, which is not the lightest full-touchscreen we’ve handled — but certainly not the heaviest at 5.4-ounces— sports a ruggedized composite case which protects a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, 1460mAh battery, 512MB RAM, 3.6-inch WVGA touchscreen display, and a host of other assets. Want to know what our first impressions are? Good. Have a look at the gallery below and hit the jump to read on.

The first thing we noticed about the device is how crisp the screen is. With ruggedized anythings, function is oft sacrificed for the sake of form. But with the Commando’s screen this does not appear to be the case. The 3.6-inch window has a 480 x 800 pixel resolution and, from what we can tell so far, doesn’t disappoint. Blacks are very black and the touch sensitivity seems to be on-par with most other Android devices — we fired off several emails and text messages without issue.

The exterior of the Commando is well accented with red composite inlays that compliment the phone’s drop-me-I-dare-you physique quite nicely. The phone has no fewer than five physical buttons on its left and right sides and we’re not sure how we feel about that — we seem to always hit a button when picking up the phone. We’ll wait to levy judgement on this design choice in our full review.

The Commando is running a slightly modded version of Android 2.2.1, but we don’t think even the most devout Android purists will mind. The modifications, for the most part, add a more ruggedized look to things — like the dialer and homescreen — and, thus far, have stayed out of the way.

We’ve ripped off a few test pictures with the device’s 5 megapixel shooter and so far the results have been favorable. The handful of close range and landscape shots we’ve taken appear to be very clean and there doesn’t seem to be anything glaringly wrong with the Commando’s camera.

The handset also support Wi-Fi hotspot creation, which, again, provides those needing a phone that can survive the elements with a nice blend or form and function.

Those are most of our initial musings.  We plan to take this handset out on the mean streets of Boston and drive it like it’s stolen — it is a rental after all — and we’ll be sure to bring you are full writeup ASAP.

Verizon Wireless just took the wraps off of the Casio G’zOne Commando, its first rugged Android 2.2 (Froyo) smartphone. The G’zOne Commando meets mil-spec 810g standards for resistance against rain, immersion, shock, dust, vibration, humidity, salt fog, solar radiation, altitude, and low and high temperatures. It packs a 5-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Verizon Wireless’ mobile hotspot feature for sharing your 3G connection with other devices. Like earlier G’zOne devices, the Commando offers some of Casio’s G’zGear software as well, including a compass, pedometer, tide charts, a thermometer, sun/moon schedules, and a star gazer application. The Commando will hit Verizon Wireless stores on April 28th for 199.99 with a new two-year contract. Hit the jump for the full release.

VERIZON WIRELESS AND CASIO INTRODUCE THE CASIO G’ZONE COMMANDO

First Ruggedized Android Smartphone for Verizon Wireless

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and Casio today announced a new addition to the rugged wireless category and a new Android-powered smartphone in the marketplace, the CASIO G’zOne Commando™.  Deployment ready, the Commando is a mobile office with high security features for secure corporate email; Wi-Fi for high-speed Web access; XT9 and T9 trace input for efficient typing; and snap-out menu for customized access to high-use applications.

Designed to withstand the most extreme conditions, the CASIO G’zOne Commando easily transitions from work to play with advanced G’zGEAR software.  As the ultimate outdoor tool in a mobile device, G’zGEAR operates in eight modes to enhance the active, adventure-driven lifestyle.  With the help of its Triple Sensor technology utilizing direction, acceleration and temperature, G’zGEAR enables adventurers to perform at their peak.

The Casio Commando is ideal for the business environment, especially for fields such as construction, transportation, manufacturing, utilities and healthcare.  Workers in hazardous environments, such as construction sites, warehouses and factory floors, need a smartphone that has the capability to download blueprints, files and pictures; update project plans; access field force management, inventory access and corporate applications; and capture signatures.

Key features:
·         Android™ 2.2
·         Meets Military Standards 810G for  Immersion, Rain, Shock and Dust Resistant, Vibration, Salt Fog, Humidity, Solar Radiation, Altitude, Low and High Temperature Storage
·         5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, still photo, video capture, LED light
·         High-security encryption for corporate email
·         Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity
·         Stereo Bluetooth™
·         VZ Navigator® for GPS and audible turn-by-turn directions
·         Mobile Hotspot capable-share 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices

Lifestyle features:
·         G’zGear operates in eight modes
o    Earth Compass – Functions as a standard compass, the GPS shows the distance and direction to several domestic and international landmarks, including Yosemite National Park and Mt. Everest.
o    Walking Counter – Measures steps, distance and energy consumption, and total steps for the day, week or month. It also provides virtual treks for famous North American trails and roads including Mt. Kilimanjaro, Annapurna Circuit, Torres Del Paine Circuit, John Muir Trail and Transcontinental
o    Adventure Training – Takes training to a new level by allowing users to run with virtual opponents, like world-record holders, wild animals, or their own best personal performance stored in the training history.
o    Trip Memory – Plots and records outdoor activities along with location information to share with friends and family on Twitter™ and Facebook®.
o    Tides – Showcases the tidal graph for the day; time of tide ebb and flow; and current, past and future sea tide levels. GPS displays the nearest location map.
o    Thermometer – Displays current temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit with numeric and graphic thermometer readings and compares the current temperature across multiple locations.
o    Sun / Moon – Checks the time of the next sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, and tracks the moon phases for your current location.
o    Star Gazer – Utilizes GPS to display the stars and constellation names based on the current season and time.

Pricing and availability:
·         The CASIO G’zOne Commando will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on April 28 for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.  CASIO G’zOne Commando customers will need to subscribe to a data plan.  Unlimited data plans are available to customers starting at $29.99 monthly access.
·         Business customers who want to purchase the device can contact their Business Sales Representatives at 1-800-VZW-4BIZ.

For more information on the CASIO G’zOne Commando or for other Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.  Customers can visit www.CasioGzOne.com to experience the CASIO G’zOne Commando.

If you were planning to buy a smartphone from Verizon Wireless soon, you may want to hold off for one more month. It looks like there are a number of high-end smartphones that are set to launch this spring; at least, according to a tipster who leaked an internal document to Phandroid. The leak suggests that Verizon Wireless will release the Casio Commando, an Android powered smartphone, and the Samsung DROID Charge — capable of running on Verizon’s 4G LTE network — on April 7th. The next week, Verizon Wireless will purportedly launch the Sony Xperia PLAY and the Windows 7-powered HTC Trophy. On April 28th, the HTC DROID Incredible 2 may also make its debut. Verizon Wireless’ other 4G phones, including the LG Revolution, Motorola BIONIC, Motorola DROID X2, and Samsung Galaxy 2 (presumably the Galaxy S 2), and are reportedly scheduled to launch in May. Again, this is all speculation, and given that the source’s Excel file looks a bit shoddy, we wouldn’t place too much stock in this… but the timing does make sense.

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The CASIO G’zOne Ravine may not be the ideal handset for most, but arguably, everyone knows someone who could benefit from owning a device like this. You know the person we’re talking about. That person who is always emailing you, or sending you Facebook messages, because they’ve dropped their phone in a puddle, pond, or pudding. Yeah, that person. Today, Verizon Wireless announced the CASIO G’zOne Ravine handset, a rough and rugged flip phone that is built to withstand water, dust, shock, vibration, humidity, altitude, salt fog, solar radiation, and high and low temperatures. The device, which carries the MIL-STD-810G certification, also packs a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash and a noise-canceling microphone. The Ravine comes with several “lifestyle features”; in-case that clumsy friend you know also happens to also love granola, the outdoors, and Subarus. The lifestyle features include a compass, walking counter, thermometer, tides, sunrise and sunset times, astro calendar, and star gazer. Groovy man. The hippie-compliant device will retail for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new 2-year agreement.

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Available today from Verizon Wireless is the long awaited Casio G’zOne Brigade. The Brigade keeps the rugged good looks of its G’zOne predecessors but shakes things up by debuting as a horizontal clamshell instead of the traditional flip phone. The Brigade also ups the specs of the G’zOne line by offering the following:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash, video capture and LED light function
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Push to Talk
• Field Force Manager
• MIL-STD-810F standards for Water, shock, dust, immersion, vibration, humidity, salt fog, altitude, high and low temperature storage, and solar radiation
• GPS with support for VZ Navigator
• Front facing speakerphone
• Text to speech capability
• microSD expansion

The Casio G’zOne Brigade hits the shelves of Verizon Wireless at a rather pricey $249 after a $50 mail in rebate and two year contract, $319.99 after a $50 mail in rebate and one year contract and $419 full retail. It also comes with an optional $5 monthly PTT plan and is outrageously classified as a 3G Multimedia phone which will require a minimum 25MB data plan for $9.99 monthly. Anyone interested in a $250 feature phone with mandatory data?

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Right on cue according to our scoop, Verizon launched two new devices today in the Motorola Rival A455 and the Casio EXILIM C721. The Rival is a pretty standard messaging device that has a full QWERTY keypad, a 2 megapixel and a 2-year contract price of $99 after a $50 MIR. Have at it, tweens. The EXILIM on the other hand, which goes for $279.99 after rebates on a 2-year deal, features a 2.3-inch pivoting QVGA display, 5.1 megapixel camera with auto-focus, flash and 3x optical zoom, GPS and all of the standard Verizon apps that you would expect. Oh, and it also meets Military Specifications 810F standards making is dust and water resistant. So what say you, people — do either of these devices strike your fancy or are you waiting for something bigger and better to come along?

Read (Moto Rival in silver; purple also available)
Read (Casio EXILIM C721)

Another month and another rebate sheet from Verizon Wireless. This latest version spans only the month of June but it does contain a few yet-to-be announced phones. We have the Casio Exilim and the Motorola Rival, both of which are slated for launch on June 10th. We also have the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 whose launch is right around the corner. Sorry folks, no tuh, tuh, Tour or Storm 2 yet. The next rebate sheet will land at the end of June so keep your fingers crossed. Hit the jump for the full rebate sheet.

Thanks, anonymous and Ezmo!

Our ninja came through for us again and provided us with all the launch details for the Casio Exilim C721. We already scooped the June 10th launch date and now we have pictures, pricing and specifications to round out the information on this new handset. Hit the jump for all the details and images you can handle.

• 1X/EVDO Rev A connectivity
• 2.3-inch QVGA (not WVGA as originally thought) internal display with  0.7-inch Mono (White) 96×32 external display
• 5.1 Megapixel auto-focus camera/camcorder with flash, image stabilizer,180-degree rotating display, and optical 3x zoom
• Dedicated camera/video key
• Meets military specifications 810F standards for water (Immersion & Rain), humidity, salt-fog, shock, vibration, dust, solar radiation, altitude, low & high temperature storage
• Bluetooth Profiles: headset, hands free, DUN, A2DP, phonebook access, and object push (for vCard / vCal)
• Music Player for: MP3, WMA, unprotected AAC & unprotected AAC+ formats
• HTML Web Browser
• Up to 8GB of optional removable memory
• Verizon Services: V CAST Music with Rhapsody,V CAST Videos, Chaperon Parent/Child Capable, Media Center, Mobile Email, Mobile Web Mail, Mobile IM & Chat capable
• Dashboard with Mobile Web, Field Force Manager capable
• Visual Voice Mail capable, Mobile Broadband Connect capable
• Text, Picture, Video & Voice Messaging
• GPS (VZ NavigatorSM Capable)
• Dimensions: 4.0” x 2.0” x 0.8”; Weight: 4.5 ounces
• Usage Time: Up to 230 minutes OR Standby Time: Up to 540 hours

The 5MP Casio Exilim will launch for $279 after a $50 mail in rebate and 2-year contract, $349 after a $50 mail in rebate and 1-year contract and $449 for full retail. At this extraordinarily high price for a souped up feature phone, the C721 will probably be a dust collector on the shelves of Verizon Wireless stores nationwide until the price drops — good thing it’s dust proof.

June looking a bit boring for you? Not enough phones launching already?. Well you’re in luck as one of our ninjas just came through with two more handsets to throw onto the pile in June, this time from our pals at VZW. First up, the QWERTY-sliding Motorola Rival A455. Since making a brief appearance earlier this month, not much has been heard from this tween-centric handset. Other than the fact that the initial model number was wrong — it’s the A455, not A445 — you’re looking at a slide-out QWERTY keypad, EV-DO connectivity, GPS, Bluetooth and a 2.0 megapixel camera. Woo hoo. Next up is the only-slightly more intriguing Casio Exilim C721. We’re sure you remember it. The C721 sports military-grade dust and water resistance, a 5.1 megapixel camera and a swiveling WVGA display. Pricing is not yet available for either phone but you can expect them both to drop on June 10th.

Thanks, KrazyVZW!

Back in the day, beer makers were faced with a marketing conundrum: How do you draw attention to your product when there really isn’t anything to differentiate it from every other competitive product out there? The answer they came up with… Naked women. These days, scantily clad females are less common in TV commercials here in the US, having been replaced by stupid guys doing funny stuff in beer ads, but that hardly means the spirit of “sex sells” doesn’t still rear its head from time to time. Take Casio’s new online ad for its upcoming Exilim C721. In the eyes of the general consumer there are really only two things that differentiate this handset from any other: a swiveling display and a water resistant case. With that in mind, how can Casio draw attention to its upcoming handset headed to Verizon Wireless? Hit the jump for the answer. On a related note, we hear Casio’s next ad run could be titled Debbie Does Digital.

[Via Engadget]

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Verizon Wireless customers in the market for a new phone may want to wait a bit before bringing home the latest and greatest Verizon has to offer. We have it on good authority that Verizon will be discounting a handful of handsets and a few broadband access modems, possibly as soon as January 22nd. This would be an unusual out of cycle discount as the current rebate sheet continues until January 31st. Select hardware from Verizon Wireless, LG, Casio, Motorola, Samsung and RIM will supposedly see their mail-in rebates increased from $50 to $70. Sure the out of pocket expense is the same but a $20 discount is a $20 discount even if it comes in the form of a rebate check. With the current state of the economy, we’ll take any discount we can get. Hit the jump for a full list of discounted hardware according to our ninja.

• Casio G’zOne Boulder
• LG VX5500
• Verizon Wireless Cdm8950
• Verizon Wireless Blitz
• Motorola  W755
• Motorola Vu204
• Motorola Vu30 Rapture
• Motorola Krave zn4
• Motorola Adventure V750
• Motorola Z6c and Z6cx
• BlackBerry Storm
• BlackBerry 8830 world edition
• Samsung U810 Renown
• Verizon Wireless Pc5750 EV-DO Rev.A PC Card
• Verizon Wireless Um175 EV-DO Rev.A USB Modem

A South Korean blog has leaked what it claims to be spy shots of the rumored new Casio Exilim phone headed to Verizon Wireless. The new CDMA Casio handset with Exilim branding recently made its way through the FCC not too long ago and all we could really tell from those FCC documents is that the handset will support dual band CDMA, EV-DO Rev. A and bluetooth. The new images and leaked information suggests that the Exilim phone will be based on the Casio W53CA Exilim flip phone with a touch of Verizon love. It will sport a 5.1MP camera, possible 3x optical zoom and a WVGA screen. We have not confirmed the authenticity of these shots but there are definitely more intriguing handsets that Photoshoppers could be spending their time making fake images of. As such, don’t be surprised if the released Exilim looks familiar once it’s announced. Hit the jump for a shot of the front of the phone.

Thanks, Alex!

[Via Howard Forums]

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With the latest crop of 8-megapixel phones, one would think they’d become ubiquitous and 2.0, 3.2 and 5 megapixel cell phones will be a thing of the past. Casio has put their Exilim series into a phone with the W63CA (if they plan on sticking around, they really ought to come up with a cooler name). This sharp shooter boasts a 3.1″ OLED display with 480 x 800 pixels – imagine the clarity and vividness of that high-definition screen. That’s right people, Casio has managed to stuff the same resolution as the HTC Touch HD into a display over a half-ince smaller! Of course, the main attraction here is the camera itself with a wide-angle lens, 9-point auto-focus, face detection, anti-shake controls and a video recorder that records VGA video at 30fps onto a microSD card – perfect for YouTube. See it hit Japan in early November and the US, umm, never.

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