News is coming out that Sony is putting on hold their higher end NAV-U80 and U81T that were to be widescreened units holding down the top of their GPS line. They announced the line expansion last year, with plans to have the models in the market quickly. Things didn’t go so well for them with the original launch of the NAV-U70, as the sales seemed to disappoint.

Philips recently announced that they are backing off from the GPS market, and canceling plans as a result of margin erosion and tough competition. One has to think that with Garmin and TomTom locking up distribution outlets for the higher end devices, it would be hard to get a toehold for your expanded line, even with the GPS category expanding at breakneck speeds. Success has been seen by companies willing to discount their way into the market, like Mio’s huge splash over the holiday’s last year. They are firmly in people’s minds as a result. Anyway, apparently Sony is still looking at launching the NAV U51 and U71T, the follow-up to their first entry.