Garmin nuvifone May Be Made by Asus

Garmin's nuvifone, its first navigation device that will also act as mobile phone in almost a decade, 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 phone in many years, 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.

Related Articles:

• Garmin Unveils Phone Focused on Navigation
• TomTom Not Making Its Own Phone

Antoine Wright contributed to this article.