GPS reviews, news, tips and tricks
UPDATE: Garmin has confirmed an October 4 availability date.
Engadget is reporting that the long-awaited Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 will be available at AT&T stores next week. They’ve included an FAQ for sales staff, but as I was prepping this post, I came across a flash demo on the Garmin-Asus website that showcases some interesting capabilities.
Boy Genius is reporting that the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 will go for $299.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate (with two-year contract), with a non-contract price of $549.99. They also said that they expect to see them “before the end of October based upon the fact that this is when these prices are effective until.”
A Malaysian reviewer got to play with the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60, and while he didn’t have a lot of time to spend with it, it’s the closest thing we’ve seen yet to a hands-on review. All in all, it seems pretty positive, and he did manage to grab a ton of screen shots. Check out a few here and then hit the link. And just a reminder for those of you not following the nuvifone soap opera… we know it is getting ready to hit the market in Southeast Asia, but there are still no details on a US launch date.
Garmin reported in their shareholders meeting today that…
…the nuvifone will be released on the open market in Asia this month or early July and said it is “getting very close” to a carrier launch of some models in the U.S.
The delays have been endless, but I hope they are really that close. One reason…I need a new phone!
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Reuters is reporting that the first Linux-based Garmin-Asus smartphone (that would be the nuvifone G60) will ship in June. We still don’t have carrier announcements, although it seems fairly certain that it will be AT&T. Nor have pricing details been released. I suspect AT&T is keeping a lid on that info, but we should hear from them by sometime next month.
Well, its the last day of CTIA Wireless and it’s pretty clear there won’t be any nuvifone carrier or pricing announcements forthcoming from Garmin-Asus. I‘m hoping this is just due to AT&T not wanting to steal the thunder from their new introductions that are coming sooner than the nuvifone.
So the news from the show is limited, but here’s what we’ve seen so far:
Videos of the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 are starting to show up online, as the Mobile World Congress ramps up in Barcelona. So far the reviews are pretty positive, the main complaints being the slow response time of the accelerometer, and a lack of depth to smart phone features like contacts and calendar.
Garmin-Asus has announced their second release, the nuvifone M20. Running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the M20 is a dual-band 3.5G / tri-band GSM phone with Wi-Fi connectivity. Pricing and availability information are expected in the first half of 2009.
They also released specs for the nuvifone G60 today, ahead of the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.
Keep reading for the full news release on the Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20.
I just finished listening to the Garmin webcast re: their partnership with Asus, and here is what I garnered:
Garmin is definitely getting into the cell phone market in a big way. They are announcing a partnership with Asus today, producing several nuvifone models in 2009. This appears to be in addition to the Android phone we previously discussed. The initial model, the Garmin-Asus G60, is still expected to be delivered in the first half of 2009.
GPS Tracklog is written by Rich Owings, author of GPS Mapping.
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