Garmin-Asus releases more G60 details, adds M20 Windows phone

By Jacqueline Emigh | Published February 12, 2009, 4:29 PM

After last week's rollout of plans to re-launch a line-up of Nuvifone smart phones -- this time together with Eee maker Asus -- GPS specialist Garmin has teamed with its partner on a new Web site for Nuvifone.

In its first week online, the site contains more details, including pictures, on the Nuvifone G60 product mentioned last week, along with an early description of a Windows Mobile-enabled model known as the M20.

As Garmin officials said at a press conference in Taiwan last week, the G60 -- a phone now set for introduction at the Mobile World Congress -- represents a rebranding of the initial Nuvifone previously planned for announcement in late 2008.

Is the phone now announced identical to the one envisioned earlier, though? Maybe or maybe not. In comparing press releases from January 30, 2008 and on the new Garmin-Asus Web site this week, Betanews found that the descriptions of feature sets overlap but are not completely the same.

Both press releases say that the flagship phone will offer a 3.5-inch touch display with three primary icons: "Call," "Search," and "View Map," for example. But the information now posted on the new Web site adds that secondary icons on the side of the G60's home screen are organizable according to the user's preference, and that the quad-band GSM phone will sport 3.5G HSPDA and Wi-Fi connectivity. Both documents mention preloaded Garmin maps, but the mention of the on-board camera included in the earlier press release is absent from this week's G60 press release. No operating system is mentioned for the G60, either.

The Windows Mobile-enabled M20, on the other hand, will be a tri-band GSM device with a full-size soft QWERTY keyboard and some of the same connectivity features and on-board software as the G60.

Garmin-Asus' M20 smartphone

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Specifications:
2G Connectivity: Quad-band GSM / GPRS / Edge 850/900/1800/1900
3G Connectivity: 850/1900/2100 HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
Other Connectivity: 802.11 b/g WLAN, Bluetooth, HFP, HSP, AVRCP, A2DP mini-USB 2.0

OS: Linux

Score: 0

|

iphone killer perhaps? (inside joke)

Score: 0

|

Bing gets geekier with new Wolfram Alpha integration

Microsoft's Bing is now teamed up with Wolfram Alpha for computational search results.

HP to acquire 3Com for $2.7 B in cash, focus on China

A long and uncertain comeback trail comes to an end for the one-time network equipment giant.

Universities reject Kindle DX as a textbook replacement

Two universities running Kindle DX pilot programs have rejected the device.

Snow Leopard and Windows 7 still can't crack the netbook problem

Apple has killed Atom support in OS X 10.6.2 and Windows 7 Starter Edition is stripped of "basic" functionality.

Facebook for iPhone developer goes from Apple supporter to 'I quit!' in 3 months

Fed up with Apple's App Store policies, the developer of Facebook for iPhone has bailed on the iPhone.

Bing vs. Google rematch on video search

After Microsoft folds some old MSN Video features back into Bing, do they add to the search engine's functionality or take away?

New EU telecoms framework mandates user consent before getting cookies

Do you want a cookie? No. Do you want a cookie? No. Do you want a cookie? No. Do you want...Are you annoyed yet? That's a preview of 2011.

The Samsung Intrepid: A nice phone, if you can accept Windows Mobile

Samsung appears to have built solid enough hardware, but it's the software that seems uncomfortable and unintuitive.

A real beta process at work: Mozilla fires up Firefox 3.6 Beta 2

In the clearest sign yet that public input really does help the development process, a flurry of bug detections provoked Mozilla to release Beta 2 of the next Firefox.

Kindle for PC opens in beta, underwhelms

Amazon has opened the beta of Kindle for PC, a companion to the Kindle, but little else.

European ministers approve watered-down 'neutral net' language

The latest provision in the EU's telecoms regulatory framework would let businesses cancel individuals' Internet access, if they go to court first.