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Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 unboxing and hands-on

by Darren Murph posted Oct 1st 2009 @ 12:08PM

There she is. 20 months and 1 day after its original introduction to the world, the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 is at long last in our (admittedly sweaty) palms. The highfalutin' smartphone isn't slated to hit AT&T shelves until this Sunday, but we were able to wrangle a retail unit early in order to bring you a sneak peek at what's to come. Frankly, we've been looking forward to this day for a long (long!) time. We've got a soft spot in our hearts for the Garmin navigation UI, and we have to say, that very same look and feel has been beautifully migrated to the mobile space. Upon unwrapping the phone, we were struck by just how classy the whole thing looks. It's plenty thin for being a GPS-turned-phone, light enough to not weigh you down and sturdy enough to somewhat justify the $299 (on contract) price. We did some brief browsing around, and everything felt satisfactorily snappy. The resistive touchscreen had some expected give, but by and large screen presses did exactly what we wanted 'em to in our limited testing. We're aiming to give this bad boy a serious critiquing over the next few days, but for now, feel free to peruse the absurdly detailed gallery below.

Gallery: Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 unboxing and hands-on

Garmin "getting very close" to a US Nuvifone launch... or so it says

by Darren Murph posted Jun 5th 2009 @ 5:41PM

If you've a proven track record of delivering solid products to consumers (much like Garmin has), we'll cut you some slack for awhile if you happen to hit a snag or two along the way while bringing a completely new device to market. But after more delays than we care to count and a 1.5 year gap between announcement and right now, the benefit of the doubt vanishes. To that end, we couldn't be happier to report that Garmin's president and COO Cliff Pemble feels that it's "getting very close" to a carrier launch (AT&T, perhaps?) in the US. Said statement was given at a shareholders meeting today, and he also mentioned that the Asian market would see the Nuvifone "this month or in early July." We appreciate the update, but at this point, the burden of proof is squarely on you, Garmin.

[Via Electronista]

Garmin Nuvifone gets FCC approval

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 14th 2008 @ 11:32AM

Every once in a while we're reminded that Garmin's Nuvifone -- announced nearly a year ago -- still exists, and this time around it's none other than the FCC doing the reminding. The curiously-named "Calf" from ASUS turns out to be the Nuvifone once you click through to the label diagrams, and test documentation reveals that 3G is being tested on both Bands II and V -- that's North America-friendly 1900 and 850MHz, for those who aren't up to snuff on their spectrum terminology. With gub'mint certification under its belt, maybe we can push that 1H 2009 release window to 1Q, eh, Garmin?

[Thanks, cl347bv]

Garmin reaffirms 1H 2009 shipment of nuvifone

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2008 @ 10:33AM

Man, a lot -- a lot -- has happened in the mobile space since Garmin went public with its then-mesmerizing nüvifone. Nearly a year later, it's become but a blip on the radar behind the Touch HD, G1, XPERIA X1 and iPhone 3G. Nevertheless, Garmin has come out and reaffirmed that the long-awaited handset will actually not be delayed once more, and that the "first half of 2009" shipping estimate is still valid. Let's just say that $500+ price tag we saw floating around back in May better be substantially lower whenever this thing finally gets around to hitting up a store shelf.

Garmin gets official with its nuvifone

by Darren Murph posted Jan 30th 2008 @ 7:53PM

We know, it's not like the nüvifone is a total surprise any longer, but just in case you tend to rest easier after digesting information straight from the source, here goes. Garmin's recently (and abruptly) announced handset obviously marks the firm's first solo foray into the cellphone arena, and according to Cliff Pemble, the firm's president and COO, it's the "breakthrough product that cellphone and GPS users around the world have been longing for." That being said, the unit will feature a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a trio of primary icons -- Call, Search and View Map -- along with an internet browser, HSDPA support and preloaded maps of North America and / or Eastern and Western Europe. Furthermore, it houses "millions" of POIs, doles out turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions and becomes Garmin's first device to include Google's local search capability. As for pricing and availability? We're looking at a Q3 2008 release, but we'll have to wait things out before finding out a price and who exactly will be carrying it. Check out the gallery below for shots of the device and its UI, and head on over to Engadget Classic for lots more pics.

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