Garmin Nuvifone hitting AT&T for $500 plus?
"Now, how likely would you be to buy the Garmin nüvifone (for yourself or as a gift) if offered by AT&T for $499.99 with a two year contract? You would be required to have both a data plan that would include unlimited Internet browsing and unlimited Navigation for $19.99 per month and one of the standard voice rate plans for a monthly fee."
So dear readers, we ask you... does that sound reasonable for a 3.5-inch touchscreen cellphone with GPS navigation, 3.5G data, WiFi, audio and video playback, and 3 megapixel camera?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lazylittleboy @ May 1st 2008 6:40AM
Wow, GPS, 3.5G, wi-fi, 3mp camera! 500 dollars? so my question is where is that extra 200 dollars going when it doesn't even come with a logo of a fruit that you have one a day and keeps the doctor away?! =P
Constable Odo @ May 1st 2008 1:32PM
Yeh, but this Gar(bage)Min Nuviphone isn't for sale yet. By the time it's introduced, the fruit logo phone will have already captured the smartphone market and this will be an also-ran. If 5,000 people buy this brick, Garmin should consider itself lucky. I mean, this sucker has little class and most likely delegated to compete with the WinMobiles and Palms Centros.
Only two smartphones left in the battle, BlackBerry and iPhone. There's no more room at the top. If this was placed next to an iPhone only a blind man would choose this Garnuvi. It's just another plastic iPhone wannabe knockoff. What's Garmin's logo anyway? Garmin spelled out next to a figure of St. Jude.
Get real. This isn't an iPhone killer, it's an iPhone seller.
Riley Freeman @ May 1st 2008 8:01AM
500 on a 2 year contract. this is worse than the iphone. keep ur phone then again im not on at&t and neither in the u.s.
zargon @ May 1st 2008 8:09AM
Considering the Nuvi 200w cost about $300 retail, $500 isn't too bad of a deal when you factor in a phone.
That and it is new, the price will come down.
mike k. @ May 1st 2008 9:41AM
Yeah but when you factor in the 2-year contract that should be subsidizing this thing, its terrible. Its like saying the gps part is 300, which is fair, and the phone part is 400, which is rediculous (with 200 off to make it 500, after 2 year contract). Plus who knows if there is any guarantee this thing will work without phone service.
Adam @ May 1st 2008 9:54AM
You can find the 200w for around $200 now.
zargon @ May 1st 2008 11:30AM
"You can find the 200w for around $200 now."
That doesn't really matter since it still retails in brick and mortor stores for $300 ($250 on sale). Since there is no real competition with phones, you pretty much pay what they tell you to pay for it or you don't get it.
Big Sam @ May 1st 2008 9:48AM
Just get a Tilt
Robert @ May 1st 2008 10:19AM
My answer is no. There are countless devices currently available that do the same and/or has similar features. As time passes, the price will drop like the every other device. Knock $200 off andn then I'll consider this device over my Kaiser.
Douglas A. @ May 1st 2008 10:30AM
If this thing has a good chunk of memory, and by good chunk I mean 8GB at least, and assuming it doesn't have any AT&T branding on it like the iPhone, I'd say its worth about $400-450.
TareX @ May 1st 2008 10:32AM
Sorry, I don't buy phones with anonymous OS running it. It looks and sounds VERY impressive, but I need a familiar, tried and approved OS with plenty of 3rd party applications.
A phone's hardware is only limited by the software running it...
asshat @ May 1st 2008 11:05AM
It runs linux dickhead.
TareX @ May 1st 2008 11:38AM
oh dear.
You mean an OS-based on Linux, just like any other camera-contacts-msg-web cellphone? Yeah that's a winner.
shetaan819 @ May 1st 2008 10:40AM
That is ridiculous since the iPhone will be about $299/$399 for all the same features.....Garmin may think they are 'prestige' pricing their phone but what its really going to look like is a ridiculously overpriced phone - remember, people are not going to think your phone is more prestigious than anything coming from the greatest marketing machine ever over at Apple....
elgee02 @ May 2nd 2008 3:07AM
All the same features my ass... iPhone doesn't stinking have GPS
akatsuki @ May 1st 2008 11:00AM
If the iPhone 3G has true GPS, this thing will be dead in the water.
asshat @ May 1st 2008 11:05AM
there is no better gps than garmin.. None.
the iphone is dead.
roach @ May 1st 2008 12:08PM
Ha. I don't know whether to take you seriously or not...
I see "asshat" and wonder if you comment was a joke or not.
PEZ @ May 1st 2008 11:05AM
Why do people bitch about contracts... this is what comes with phones. Without a contract, the company dosnt know what sort of revenue it can be making - do you realize none of the cellphone companies are in the red profit wise? This is why they offer fucking services... 500 dollars for this device is a good deal, since a good nuvi can cost 300-400 bucks... plus, its the BEST GPS out there, hands down. 3.5G? Better than iphone... camera? Better... look at that hting. Drool pal.
roach @ May 1st 2008 12:08PM
That thing is ugly as sin. It looks like an old Palm T|X
People may say they don't care what it looks like, but they are lying. Everyone cares what their phone looks like, especially when they whip it out in public.
This will NEVER take down the iPhone. People need to get over the fact that everything will be compared to the iPhone. When you make a product that easy and fluid to use, of course it is going to draw comparisons.
blitzkrieg999 @ May 1st 2008 12:16PM
I can kind of understand the price tag, but I wouldn't pay it. As someone above mentioned, this is With Contract. I'm sorry, but With Contract that phone shouldn't be anywhere near $500 in my opinion.
Which sucks, because I absolutely love the look of that phone otherwise.
Ed @ May 1st 2008 12:18PM
For me, it depends on the internal memory and weather the rumor of AT&T subsidizing the cost of the iPhone rings true.
With the iPhone's media features, browser (if the new is flash capible which it will be), multi-touch and visual vm, I'll be sticking with the 2nd gen iPhone.
But if there's 8 gig more internal mem, a very good browser and a very good media player built into the Garmin, then maybe I'll buy it. The geotagging of pics is a very cool feature!
Nathan @ May 1st 2008 12:20PM
I'd get it just for that unlimited GPS + Internet plan for $20. Which surprises me considering how expensive AT&T is with their data & texting plans.
Al @ May 1st 2008 12:24PM
I have Garmin on my N95.
I can also multitask when Garmin is running.
xB Owner @ May 1st 2008 12:48PM
I agree that the price is too high with a contract. I'd probably be willing to pay up to $600 without a contract, but not $500 on contract. Especially when they are requiring a $20 data plan on top of whatever voice plan you choose. Make it $400-$450 (max) on contract and toss in a mail in rebate to get it somewhere a bit more reasonable.
I think the phone may be seen as a better value if in the future there are support for and development of third part apps.
MasterCKO @ May 1st 2008 12:48PM
too much money for an on-contract phone.
junk_mail77 @ May 1st 2008 1:24PM
This is a hard call, I think. One the one hand, of course they want to premium price the phone and set it as a high-end player. On the other hand, this is version 1.0. It sounds nice on paper, but no way would I get version 1.0 of this. It's got to have a good chunk of memory to hold all the POI data, so the question is how much memory is left for the user. Other key questions:
- removable memory support?
- how good is the media player?
- does it sync with my PC and/or Mac?
- calendaring?
- proprietary or mini-USB port?
If the answer to any of the above is not satisfactory then I think the $500 price point is too high.
NoLimitz80 @ May 1st 2008 2:52PM
Know remember people this is why they are doing a survey. To see how interested people are in buying this phone at this price with the monthly data. This is to gauge how people feel about it at this price. This probably will change if they see negative results from the survey.
M @ May 1st 2008 6:48PM
I agree with many of the other posters, the price is too high to be competitive with a big seller like the iphone
charles @ May 1st 2008 8:18PM
think its high considering this is their first taste in the cellphone market and yet to prove anything yet. specs on paper look good but once field tested it will be a whole different ballgame.
plh2034 @ May 2nd 2008 5:10AM
This phone is on my most wanted list simply because of the 3.5" screen and desktop like web browser.
Add in 3G, GPS, 8GB of storage or highcap SD, a decent Camera and a smooth video playback and i would by it depending on how good it matches up to the iPhone, Diamond and X1.
Those are the phones i'm considering at the moment but none of them are perfect
David Glassman @ May 2nd 2008 11:55AM
Garmin Rules
G-Bone @ May 2nd 2008 9:51PM
I like and trust garmin products, but this "phone" move is a little sketchy.
youngcalihottie @ May 2nd 2008 10:41PM
too expensive. especially if the n95 ever does really hit at&t. (hint: free google maps w/gps support). thats what i used my n95 with. until i lost it today :'(. i am no apple fanboy, but i would rather have a 3g iphone2 if it has gps. too many other great phones out there that do the same thing. if you like garmin software and u need the gps first/phone second, then maybe this is for u. and i suppose that is who they are actually targeting. but i think too many people who need a gps already have one. its too expensive with contract. bottom line.
JStorm @ May 3rd 2008 10:54PM
I took that same survey and have a saved pic of 299.99.
Bewailer @ May 5th 2008 2:46PM
I agree that $500 seems way too pricey for the phone/navigation unit.
But the $20 a month data/navigation fee is a bargain based on AT&T's
current non-iphone rates of $30 for unlimited data and $10 for AT&T
Navigator. I don't see any mention of traffic, which to me might be
the reason to buy, that may be an additional monthly fee.
Oleg @ May 7th 2008 9:36AM
So hot discussions about something that no one has touched yet! In my country people were paying 1000 dollars for the iPhone and you are finding 500 bucks too much!:-)
Gruven @ May 16th 2008 12:28PM
WTF Are they thinking? CHARGING for unlimited navigation? Are people really going to fall for this? So in one year you would have paid 220.00, almost enough to BUY you a GPS unit and get all the free navigation you want! Am I missing something? You NEVER pay a fee for GPS once you buy your unit...
I was all for the Nuviphone until now. Screw it. I will buy myself the new 3g iphone and duct tape my Nuvi 680 on the back of it. So THERE Garmin, You HACKS!!!.
PEZ @ Jun 15th 2008 6:09PM
They arent charging for unlimited navigation - its PART of the unlimited data plan (and the GPS is connected WITH search services). You might want to mention - if you dont jailbreak your iphone, you CANT use the ipod (its most formidable feature) unless you activate the phone.
AND... this is like dropping a phone into the Nuvi 880, the most advanced navigation product there is - and its not released yet.
I just have a feeling you do not understand technology. hmm.. maybe go to gadget school? :)
Iron Sheep @ Jun 17th 2008 2:38PM
Right now I'm considering both the nuvifone and the iPhone 3G. The iPhone has the advantage of having a year in the market, and Apple has proven that they can regularly deliver updates/fixes...they are dedicated to the product. If Garmin can prove that they can do the same thing, I'm probably sold. I don't mind paying $500 up front for an awesome phone, although bringing it down to $199 or $299 would help a lot. We'll see what happens when it hits the streets.
Steven @ Jun 20th 2008 5:03PM
What the hell is wrong with ppl saying $500 is too much and comparing it to the iphone that is over a year old! Remember when the iphone came out it was 500 with a contract and it didnt do sms or video but everyone still bought it. The new iphone 3g is a piece of crap also NO SMS AND VIDEO STILL! seriously just because apple said sending and receiving pics is a dead technology doesnt mean it is and i think apple is forgetting that the iphone is used mainly by young ppl emailing and alerts are not something they care too much about..