Last month, Garmin and Asus announced their partnership, touting a re-branded Nuvifone as their first product. Recently, the new mobile company announced an upcoming Windows Mobile handset dubbed the Garmin-Asus M20.
As expected, the phone will feature high-end GPS functionality courtesy of Garmin and looks geared towards that segment of consumers. The expansive GPS feature will include detailed streets and interesting landmarks all pre-loaded into the unit so you don't have to lose your way even without a cell phone signal in the area. Currently included will be detailed street maps for the US, Eastern and Western Europe and several countries yet to be announced, along with special points of interest such as restaurants, gas stations and hotels. Also included will be Garmin's Connected Services, which will add location intelligence to GPS and other phone functions.
Of course, it's a full-featured phone as well, with a 2.8-inch touchscreen TFT sporting VGA resolution, built-in accelerometer, either 4 or 8 GB of memory, microSD expansion slot, built-in mic, stereo speakers and a 3 megapixel camera. It works with tri-band GSM with HSDPA access, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Despite being a WinMo phone, users can expect a better interface with a similarly reskinned homepage as in the original Nuvifone. Garmin-Asus is expecting to release the M20 during the second half of the year.
