Garmin's nuvifone, its first navigation device that will also act as mobile phone, will reportedly be manufactured by Asus.
This will be a change of policy, Garmin's director of OEM and mobile marketing, Roger Jollis told DigiTimes. His company had never before outsourced a product.
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However,
as this will be Garmin's first ever phone, it had to turn to an outside
company for help designing and making this device.
Jollis did not reveal the name of the company that will be so integral to the nuvifone, but DigiTimes' sources say it is Asus.
An Overview of the nuvifone
The
nuvifone will be Garmin's first GSM featurephone designed to take
advantage of its GPS knowledge. It will feature a large touchscreen,
GPS receiver, and built-in maps.
It will be the replacement
for this company's line of GPS-enabled Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds.
Because it will offer a constant 3G connection to the Internet, this
device will offer features not available in this company's earlier
models, such as real-time traffic and fuel prices.
This will be
more than just a navigation device. It will have a web browser,
messaging application, multimedia options, and a camera.
Pricing and Availability
Garmin is now expected to release the nuvifone in the fourth quarter of this year, a bit after earlier expectations.
According
to a survey sent out by the company, this device may cost $500 with a
two year contract on AT&T. A $19.99 a month unlimited data
option could be a part of the plan.
Additional information about this device is available at www.garmin.com/nuvifone.
From : http://www.brighthand.com/
