Garmin-Asus is reportedly preparing a Windows Phone 7 device, which is not expected to arrive on the market until early next year. The company also plans to expand its Android-based lineup in the Taiwan market, with one to two devices expected before the end of the year, according to a DigiTimes report.
Garmin-ASUS today launched its third Android phone in less than a year. Unlike the driving-oriented Garminfone and its A50 sibling, the A10 puts its focus on walking directions and has custom GPS software tailored to on-foot GPS. A newer version of Android is also probable as the phone supports multi-touch in the web browser.
Garmin-ASUS today formally unveiled its two answers to the lackluster uptake of the original nuvifone. The nuvifone A50 is the partnership's first Android phone and combines both Garmin's nuvi-based GPS navigation with a more modern operating system than either the Linux-based G60 original or Windows Mobile devices. It supports newer Android features like multi-touch in the web browser and voice recognition for search.
Garmin-ASUS on Friday released the Windows 6.5.3-powered M10 smartphone in Taiwan. The company's third GPS phone, it's powered by a Qualcomm 600MHz chip and is the first to use Windows Mobile 6.5.3, although it uses a resistive touchscreen rather than the capacitive that 6.5.3 enables. Internet Explorer is also said to be smoother in transitions in touch gestures and is quicker overall.
Garmin and Asus have announced that the nüvifone M20 has been updated with Microsoft's latest Windows Mobile 6.5 software. The software provides a revamped home screen, with touch-optimized icons and access to the variety of apps available through the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Users can also take advantage of Facebook and Microsot's My Phone service.
Garmin-ASUS at CommunicAsia on Tuesday said that its decision to launch Android phones next year will mark the end of the partnership's custom Linux variant. The nuvifone G60 will now be both the first and last phone to run the in-house OS and all future nuvifones will either use Android or else, like the M20, Windows Mobile. Reasons for the switch haven't been explained to CNET but likely center on both the true smartphone-level feature set as well as the reduced work of using an existing OS rather than developing from scratch.
Garmin-ASUS today at Computex indicated that it would launch an Android phone in early 2010. While short on details, the smartphone partnership said it would still use Garmin's GPS navigation and that it wouldn't override Google's own Maps feature. A chance exists that the phone will ship earlier than the official schedule, ASUS' associate marketing VP Jacqueline Yang says, though how likely this is wasn't detailed.
Garmin-ASUS' long-delayed nüvifone G60 is now expected to show in June, a direct source claims. Talking to Reuters, the insider says the first LiMo-based (Linux Mobile) phones will ship in June and, by extension, that the G60 will be one of the early models. The GPS-centric handset has been repeatedly delayed since its January 2008 unveiling and has been given a first-half 2009 release timeframe that would support the latest claim.
