Bargain hunters looking for a new ultraportable this Christmas could do well to hold off until the new year, as ASUS CEO Jerry Shen has announced the company plans to launch an Android-based Smartbook in Q1 2010 that could be priced at around $180. ASUS were among the companies demonstrating Smartbook prototypes – based on Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor – back in June, but since then have downplayed their involvement with the format.
It’s only taken them a couple of years, but Garmin have finally announced a release of the nuvifone G60 in the US. As of October 4th the touchscreen GPS-centric handset will arrive on AT&T, priced at $299 following a $100 mail-in rebate and assuming you’re willing to sign two years of your cellular life away to the carrier.
Garmin-ASUS’ nuvifone has been a long time coming, and in fact if it’s the original you’re waiting for then you’ll have to hold on a little longer. If, though, you’re willing to make do with the nuvifone M20 – the collaboration’s Windows Mobile 6.1 model – then phoneArena’s review will be of interest. They’ve been putting the compact PND/smartphone hybrid through its paces, to see if you’re better off putting all your eggs in one basket or not.
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The Garmin-ASUS nuvifone M20 is tipped to arrive in Taiwan on August 19th, according to the Economic Daily News, in association with Chunghwa Telecom (CHT). The entry-level device in the Garmin-ASUS PND-phone range, the nuvifone M20 runs Windows Mobile and has a compact 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen and 3-megapixel autofocus camera.
Garmin-ASUS have announced that the long-awaited nuvifone G60 touchscreen GPS cellphone will go on sale in Taiwan on July 27th, followed by a Singaporean and Malaysian launch in August alongside the Windows Mobile-based nuvifone M20. The G60 should then arrive in Europe and the US in the second half of this year, as previously reported, while the M20 will bypass the US altogether but hit Europe, again, in 2H09.
Garmin-ASUS intend to launch the nuvifone G60 by the end of 2009, with some markets expected to see the GPS-centric handset as early as August. That’s the latest news from Garmin’s regional director for Southeast-Asia sales, Hektor Tung, who has also revealed that the partnership plan to ditch their home-grown Linux OS after the G60 and move instead to Android.
When your first handset looks set to rack up close to twelve months of delay, you may as well announce a few more. That seems to be the attitude at Garmin-ASUS, who are conveniently forgetting all about their much-postponed nuvifone G60 and instead are talking about their upcoming Android smartphone, set to arrive by the end of Q1 2010.
Garmin-ASUS have again delayed the release of the nuvifone G60, blaming the complexities of fresh hardware and custom software. The touchscreen smartphone – which was first announced back in January 2008 – is now expected to arrive in the second half of 2009, potentially in excess of 12 months delay over the original Q2 2008 launch schedule.
We stopped by to check out the latest fruits of the Garmin-ASUS partnership today at Mobile World Congress, in the shape of the new nuvifone M20 and the latest iteration of the nuvifone G60. The latter, although we’ve seen it several times before, still manages to impress: that’s primarily thanks to the user-interface, which is GPS-focused enough to truly feel like a real PND/smartphone hybrid.
More hands-on shots of the G60 and M20 – plus hands-on feedback – after the cut
The much-rumored ASUS Eee Phone is another device on the Garmin-ASUS roadmap, according to a company spokesperson, but it will not be making an appearance at MWC next week. Instead, the budget smartphone will get an announcement later this year, but the duo are keeping tight-lipped about what OS the handset will run. Various options are on the table – including Windows Mobile, Android and other Linux distros – but the expectation is still that Google’s open-source platform will be the likely candidate.
Garmin and ASUS announced their partnership to co-develop, brand and market handsets last week, with the news focusing primarily on the nuvifone series. These devices, which would build heavily on Garmin’s GPS expertise, would prioritize location-based services in order to distinguish themselves from the rest of the cellphone crowd.
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