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Garminfone coming to T-Mobile

April 21, 2010 By 1 Comment

Garminfone

UPDATE: Read my hands on review of the T-Mobile Garminfone.

Garmin and T-Mobile have announced the Android-powered Garminfone, which will be exclusive to T-Mobile. This seems to be a US version of the nuvifone A50, previously announced for some Asian and European markets. That model got quite a few positive reviews, unlike the original nuvifone G60. Availability is slated for later this spring. This is the first release branded as a Garminfone rather than a nuvifone; that’s probably a good marketing decision, since the Garmin name is so well known. There’s no indication which version of Android the Garminfone is running.

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Filed Under: Android, Featured, Garmin-Asus, Mobile Tagged With:

Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50

February 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Garmin-Asus-nuvifone-A50 Garmin-Asus has announced their first Android phone, the nüvifone A50. It includes on-board maps, lane assist and junction view, comes with a car mount, and is compatible with Garmin’s CityXplorer maps. Nothing shocking there; the biggest news is availability – the A50 is expected to be available in the first half of 2010 in Europe – no word on a US release! Oh, and Engadget is reporting that it’s running Android 1.6, two full generations behind the Nexus One’s 2.1. Here’s the full news release:

Garmin-Asus, a co-branded alliance between Garmin® Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), and ASUSTeK® Computer Inc. (TAIEX: 2357), today announced the Garmin-Asus nüvifone A50, a touchscreen Android-powered smartphone with multiple location technologies and apps.  The A50 benefits from the personalization and enhanced features offered by the Android platform, and also includes Garmin navigation with turn-by-turn, voice prompted directions for use in a car or while walking. Location features are designed into virtually every function including email, text messaging, and photos. The A50 will be on display at the Garmin-Asus booth (Hall 8, #8B127) at Mobile World Congress, February 15-18, 2010.

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Filed Under: Android, Featured, Garmin-Asus, Mobile Tagged With:

Google Maps Navigation review

January 19, 2010 By 20 Comments

satelliteNot the nav app you’re looking for

Google Maps Navigation (referred to hereafter as GMN) is a free navigation app for Android version 1.6+ phones in the U.S. I bought the Motorola Droid recently (which I absolutely love BTW), so I thought I’d share my experiences with this much discussed free navigation app.

One important thing to be aware of — this is a beta application. Google has been known to keep their products in beta for a long time, but this one is pretty new and the beta label definitely applies.

The first part of my review is basically a tutorial, walking you through the interface, and offering useful tips. For my overall take, head on down to the conclusion.

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Filed Under: Android, Android apps, Location based services, Mobile, Mobile apps, Software Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Google Maps Navigation launches

October 28, 2009 By 7 Comments

Google-Maps-Navigation It’s official, Google has launched a free turn-by-turn navigation app – Google Maps Navigation. It’s in beta, and is only available for Android 2.0 phones (e.g., Verizon Droid), but I can already say that this is a huge change for the GPS navigation industry.

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Filed Under: Android, Android apps, Mobile, Mobile apps, The business of GPS Tagged With:

Speculation on Garmin Android strategy

January 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Garmin Android Oregon
A couple of things got me thinking about Garmin's Android strategy yesterday. One was a post by Phandroid, speculating that the Garmin Approach G5 may morph into an Android app. The other was a question by a reporter about handheld device trends.

I'm not convinced that Garmin will create applications for devices manufactured by others, but I can see lots of opportunities for hybrid units. For example, we could see the following:

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Filed Under: Android, Garmin, Mobile, The business of GPS

Garmin confirms Android phone under development

December 22, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Garmin logo small
Just got the following from Garmin, in response to the DigiTimes story we mentioned earlier today:

The nüvifone we announced in January 2008 does not have an Android OS. The nüvifone OS is based on a modified version of Linux. We do have an Android-based phone under development; however, we are not releasing any additional information about that product at this time.

Da' cats out of the bag!

Filed Under: Android, Garmin, Garmin-Asus, Mobile, The business of GPS

Will Garmin nuvifone switch to Android platform?

December 10, 2008 By 4 Comments

Garmin nuvifone Android
Yesterday Garmin signed onto the Open Handset Alliance, developers (along with Google) of the open Android mobile phone platform. Previously, it has appeared that the nuvifone would use a Linux OS. I'm assuming Garmin is way too far along in development to switch to Android now, but perhaps this is where the second generation will head.

One of many concerns for the nuvifone  is that it probably won't be open to third-party developers. Apple's iPhone apps have proved incredibly popular, and a move to Android would give the nuvifone access to a large number of third-party applications.

Filed Under: Android, Garmin, Garmin-Asus, Mobile, The business of GPS
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