GPS Tracklog » Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60

PC Mag slams nuvifone G60

Rich Owings — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:28:13 +0000

Wow! PC Magazine has posted a Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 review and they slammed it, giving it a 2 out of 5 star review, saying, “It’s like Garmin gave up halfway through the development cycle and released what it had.” This, despite some fairly positive points. It sounds like it’s a good phone and a good navigator, but a weak smartphone. Don’t count the boys from Olathe out yet though, because that could actually bode well for the forthcoming Android nuvifones. Here’s hoping they can cut many months off the development (and carrier certification) cycle!

Read for yourself, but here are the highlights and lowlights:

Pros:

Crisp and clear call quality
~~Better HSDPA signal strength than the iPhone~~ See comment below
Good Battery life
“…the best cell-phone-based GPS navigation device I’ve ever tested.”

Cons:

No DC adapter
Slower recalculations than a standalone GPS receiver
Weak speaker
No MMS
Lack of apps
Sluggish browser
Poor camera
Price

Nuvifone due next week? Will parse addresses from websites

Rich Owings — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:58:19 +0000

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.

The nuvifone will apparently be able to parse an address from a website and navigate there. The grainy screen grab above shows this in action. The G60 will also allow you to embed location information in emails, text messages or photos you send.

Clearly navigation is at the forefront in this device, and I expect that it will perform those functions very well. But how well will it function as a phone? If these reports are right, we should know soon.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 pricing

Rich Owings — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:28:12 +0000

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.”

Read