GPS icon Garmin and ASUSTeK Computer have partnered to design, manufacture and
distribute co-branded location-centric smartphones.
The first nüvifone has GPS friend finding, a parking space recorder, dashboard mount, and photo geotagging to allow other people to find the location of the photo. For example you send a photo of the coffee house where you want to meet and since it is geotagged, your friend with the same phone can get directions to the coffee house.
Garmin and ASUS
have jointly developed a mobile smartphone product
line, which will be known as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone series. The
companies will market several Garmin-Asus nüvifone models
in 2009.
A new Garmin-Asus nüvifone model will be announced at the
Mobile World Congress in February.
All Garmin-Asus
nüvifone devices will follow in the footstep of the first nüvifone and will be LBS-centric devices that connect,
communicate and navigate. The original Garmin nüvifone that was
announced in 2008 will be re-branded as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60.
The Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 is expected to be delivered in the first
half of 2009, and additional information about the Garmin-Asus nüvifone
G60 will be released at the Mobile World Congress trade show.
LBS functionality is core to the Garmin-Asus nüvifone series, which
will offer the same turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation features
found on high-end
Garmin portable navigation devices (PND). It has preloaded maps and
millions of points of interest that allow drivers to quickly find a
specific street address, establishment's name or search for a
destination by category.
In addition, the nüvifone includes quick
access to online points of interest through internet enabled local
search. The nüvifone harnesses the power of the worldwide web and
information about local merchants and attractions is continually
updated. The nüvifone also features Ciao!™, a social networking
application that bridges the gap between multiple location based social
networks and integrates them seamlessly into one device.
Videos and more information on nüvifone read the previous article nüvifone Videos Show Super GPS(Via Geotagged Photos) MP3 Player and Touchscreen.