Almost a year after it was first shown off and several months after it brought Asus on board, the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 looks finally set to hit the market. Sources are pegging the release to happen in June.
Originally believed to be an Android device, it's now confirmed that the G60 will run on a flavor of Linux. According to Garmin, the G60 will use a proprietary brew of the open-source OS, which, hopefully, will work just as well as the original interfaces they showed off the last time.
The Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 has long been touted as the most complete GPS solution in a voice handset. Combining high-end hardware components with Garmin's years of expertise in the GPS arena, it wasn't too far-fetched a claim. Not to mention, the phone itself looked way cool.
Known specs of the G60 include a 3.55-inch touchscreen display, a 3 megapixel camera module (with geotagging), Wi-Fi and HSDPA. GPS features will dominate the device, including preloaded maps for your region (either North America, Eastern Europe or Western Europe), Ciao! buddy-finding software and a suite of helpful tools found in existing Nuvi GPS units.
To be honest, the company is quickly running out of months with their first-half of 2009 target. Better roll this GPS-phone out before the market catches up - believe me, they will.
Photo Credit: Engadget Mobile
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.
