Garmin and Asus started working together a while back to develop the new Nuvifone range of smartphones. According to these developers, the Nuvifone is aimed to offer the mobile computing enthusiasts blazing speed and uncompromised performance, as well as advanced navigational abilities.

The more exciting thing is that the wait is now finally over. The first Nuvifone smartphone named M20 has been released under the Garmin-Asus brand and will also be showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. However everyone was waiting for the G60 but the Nuvifone M20 is far better than the awaited one and should be more expensive than the G60. The exact price is not known yet. The assured thing is that the Nuvifone M20 will really bring more speed, functionality and reliability at the user’s fingertips. The device looks somewhat similar to the Nokia N95 and features HSDPA, Wi-Fi and a 3 megapixel camera with geo-location features. The touch enabled display measures 2.8 inches and is capable of rendering stunning images and videos in 640×480 pixels. Other known goodies are built in mic, speakers, 4GB/8GB integrated storage and Activesync compatibility.

Garmin has powered the Nuvifone M20 with its proprietary satellite navigation system (preloaded with maps and Points of Interests throughout the globe). The GPS too is advanced. Garmin-Asus has imparted Connected Services in M20. The Connected Services is a suite of online applications aimed at adding AI to navigation, phone and browsing functions. Like G60, the Nuvifone M20 also features Ciao, the popular application offering smart social networking options.

Recently Garmin and popular PC manufacturer Asus have joined hands to develop a new range of Nuvifone smartphones. The Nuvifone range of smartphones will sport some of the best and speediest smartphones ever. Mobile computing enthusiasts will experience unprecedented speed and reliability in these phone’s mobile operations and connectivity. The Nuvifone product line was fixed for launch in Jan last year, but it didn’t quite happen that time. The product is now scheduled for a re-launch in the first half of 2009 under the newly formed Garmin-Asus brand.

Garmin said that the Asus is a veteran in the smartphone domain and thus it’s the best partner to choose for the development of Nuvifone phones. The venture will offer the consumers variety of new and improved smartphones running on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, Linux (LiMo) and Google’s Android platforms. These phones will feature improved GPS navigation and interactive maps that will be of great assistance to the drivers. Apart from this the Nuvifone range will sport all the usual features including high resolution display, audio/video player, GPRS, high speed Bluetooth, improved Wi-Fi, java games office applications, PDF reader, high resolution web cam and much more. Its GPS and geolocation services will also be much more involved and advanced than those found on standard Asus smartphones like the Asus P320. Both the companies are deeply concerned about the Nuvifone smartphone’s agility with respect to data processing. They want the Nuvifone range to be the biggest competitor of top notch smartphones including Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Palm phones etc.

Jonney Shih, chairman of Asustek commented, “The company will compete against the iPhone and The G1 Android with particular emphasis on location-based services, something that Garmin will be keen to adopt.”

Tags for this article: mobile, smartphone, asus