Back in January, I struggled to make sense of Motorola’s announcement to abandon internal ViaMoto navigation application efforts and partner-up with Destinator and Jentro for an alternative 3^rd party solution. That fogginess lifted a bit with Destinator’s PR yesterday.

First of all, ViaMoto’s main check-writer was Avis who now offers Where2 eliminating hopes of a US navigation power-play. Secondly, the Chinese automotive industry boom presents an opportune time to discount any on-board PND momentum that might arise, and with Moto eyeing emerging D2C models popular there, they need a partner with a strong Chinese presence. Lastly, there are other emerging competitive threats in China for Moto previously mentioned.