GPS Acquisitions

Now I love golf equipment more than most people, but I also have a thing for technology. I am one of those people who love to see new and cool products come out and then I love to buy them and tinker with them.

When you combine the two things I love then I go crazy which is why I love golf gps units. I own a golf gps unit and I love the thing. I don't just love it for the technology side, but I love the fact that I can get yardages to exact spots on the course no matter where I am.

I own an iGolf Neo, which is one of the most affordable gps units on the market. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the uPro or Skycaddie, but it gets the job done and it gets it done at under $150 which is the best part.

Two of the companies I mentioned above though have had some big news in the past few weeks. I noticed on the web a few days ago about a couple major acquisitions that were made.

Here are the links to the press releases:

http://igolf.com/igolfnewsfiles/51_Bushnell_Partnership___iGolf_FINAL_version.pdf

http://ir.callawaygolf.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=68083&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1240523&highlight

Now if you want to read those go ahead, but let me sum it up for you. Callaway recently went out and acquired uPlay which is the company that released the increasingly popular uPro gps unit. The uPro provides the user with flyovers of the hole much like what you see on Sunday at the final round of a PGA Tour event on CBS (this feature costs extra though).

Now, I really like Callaway's thoughts on this. They already have a rangefinder in the inventory so why not add a gps unit? Why not add the gps unit with the most hype? I really think with the Callaway backing and logo this gps unit will begin to sell more and more than what it has in months past. Not only that, but I think you will see become more readily available in local shops with the Callaway backing.

The first link I have of the two covers Bushnell's recent acquisition of iGolf. Now we all know Bushnell is famous for their rangefinders, but they recently entered the golf gps market with their Yardage Pro which used iGolf's gps mapping to provide distances.

Now as I said I am a customer of iGolf and while I will say there products are fabulous and very affordable they still lack in a few areas. Customer service is an area where improvement is much needed and maybe with the Bushnell acquisition this will aid in that area. I also believe that the Bushnell name will help provide more face time for the iGolf units than the iGolf name did. In fact, iGolf recently launched two new units the Saturn, a full color gps that provides hole layout, and the Triton, a black and white unit that is more full featured than the Neo. I really think with the changes in the products name that you will begin to see more and more of their products as well.

All in all, the two acquisitions will benefit both acquiring party and the party acquired. This will allow more people to see the uPro technology and iGolf technology while giving both Callaway and Bushnell more products to attack the market share owned by Skycaddie and other gps units.

On a side note, if you have never tried a golf gps unit go out and give one a go. I think you might really enjoy the benefits it gives you.

Hit 'em straight!