Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 Delayed Yet Again

The release of the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 has been moved back yet again. This navigation-oriented smartphone is now expected to launch about 18 months after it was first unveiled.

The G60 was formally announced in early 2008, but its release has been pushed back several times now. According to a statement by a Garmin executive last week, it's now expected to debut during the second half of this year.

The head of Garmin said, "Smartphones are complicated and bringing one to market that's built totally from the ground up on a custom Linux platform is not an easy task."

This announcement does not appear to affect the nüvifone M20, the second model in the Garmin-Asus collaborative effort to create navigation-oriented smartphones. This device will run Windows Mobile and is still scheduled to hit the market in the second half of this year.

More about the Garmin nüvifone G60

The nüvifone G60 will be a GSM featurephone designed to take advantage of Garmin's GPS expertise. It will include a large touchscreen, GPS receiver, and built-in maps.

Because it will offer a constant 3G connection to the Internet, this device will offer features not available in this company's earlier smartphones, such as real-time traffic and fuel prices.

This will be more than just a navigation device. The G60 will have a web browser, messaging application, multimedia options, and a camera.

It's not known which wireless carriers will offer this device, though Garmin's president says their is still interest from carriers, despite the delays.

Via: Twice