2004 Brings Remarkable Success for the Mio Brand

(Auszug aus der Pressemitteilung)

December 31, 2004, Taipei, Taiwan – For the young Mio brand, 2004 was undoubtedly a pivotal year. Looking back at 2004, Mio saw sales channels extend to five continents and dozens of countries. Coming with this expansion was explosive growth in total shipments. With excellent sales being reported from all quarters, Mio achieved several notable milestones in 2004. Following is a look at some of the highlights for Mio in the year just passed.

Mio GPS shipments show exponential growth, taking the #1 spot in the Taiwan and Korea markets
During the first quarter of 2004, with the help of the Mio 168’s innovative design, marketing, and value-added services, Mio GPS products ranked #1 in market share in the Taiwan and Korea markets. Mio took advantage of this momentum by introducing the Mio 136 and Mio 168RS, pushing Mio product shipments to ever greater heights. According to a world-recognized market survey firm, Mio-branded GPS products were fourth in global market share during the third quarter, with shipments of 65,000 units, behind only PalmOne, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell. Mio-branded GPS products had a 3.2% share of the global market for the quarter.

Mio wins steady stream of awards from around the world
As Mio products were welcomed in markets around the world, they also won acclaim and awards from local media:

• November – Selected as Editors’ Choice and Best Buy by Italian online magazine www.hw-vault.com
• August – Named Top Pick by US magazine Handheld Computing
• July – Selected as Editors’ Choice by US magazine Laptop
• May – Won Mobile Choice Award from US magazine Mobile PC
• May – Named Best Choice by Japan’s Mobile Press magazine
• Won Taiwan Symbol of Excellence award

Mio sports marketing achieves superb results
Mio made its inaugural sports marketing efforts in 2004, and the results exceeded expectations, providing a considerable boost to the Mio brand image. Among Mio’s sports marketing activities were sponsorship of the Chinese Taipei Olympic team with a special edition of the Mio 168 that included electronic maps of Athens. The Mio 168 accompanied the team as it recorded a historic best of two gold medals, two silvers, and one bronze. Another extremely successful effort was Mio’s sponsorship of a driver at the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia (PICCA) auto races. The Mio brand garnered considerable publicity as its driver not only competed at six venues in four countries, but also won third runner-up and Newcomer of the Year awards for 2004-as well as a great deal of interest from the auto racing world. In addition, Mio sponsored “hole-in-one” events in cooperation with Taiwan’s eight largest golf courses, while also introducing the iGOGO golf course e-guides for golfing enthusiasts.

• The Mio 168 was designated the official GPS navigation product for the Chinese Taipei Olympic team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
• The Mio 168 helped the Chinese Taipei Olympic team find their way around the 2004 Athens Olympic Games
• Mio Digiwalker sponsored a driver in the Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asia auto race, with the Mio driver taking honors as overall second runner-up and Newcomer of the Year for 2004
• Mio Digiwalker sponsored the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee’s “Pay It Forward!Foreigners’ Sports Festival 2004” event
• Mio Digiwalker sponsored “hole-in-one” events at Taiwan’s eight largest golf courses, and launched the Mio iGOGO golf course e-guidebook

A spokesperson for Mio Technology stated that looking back, 2004 marked Mio’s shift from a newly established brand to a phase of rapid growth. During the year, Mio stimulated a great deal of interest, and was able to stay in tune with consumer trends. Looking to 2005, the Mio team will continue to enhance product offerings. It projects that 2005 will see even greater breakthroughs and achievements, including significant progress toward the goal of making Mio a leading brand in wireless communications.