MobileTechReview Forum, News and Reviews: Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20 and G60 GPS Phone Details

We posted about the new Garmin-Asus nuvifone series, today the two companies have released more info on two specific models, the nuvifone M20 with full QWERTY keyboard and the nuvifone G60 with 3.5G. Here are the details on these two upcoming GPS phones:

The Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20, an all-in-one phone, mobile webbrowser and premium navigation system with a Windows Mobile operating system.

As the first Garmin-Asus nuvifone powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with
enterprise email, the sleek and colorful nuvifone M20 is designed for on-the-go
professionals who want a fashionable and functional smartphone to manage their busy
work and personal lives. This powerful device combines a dual-band 3.5G/tri-band GSM
phone with Wi-Fi connectivity, desktop-like internet browser, push email, document
viewing, multi-media capability, Bluetooth and Garmin sat nav.

The nuvifone M20?s full QWERTY soft keyboard makes it easy to send and receive SMS,
MMS and emails. The nuvifone M20 can also be synched with a computer so that contacts
and emails are always available. HSDPA wireless connectivity and enterprise grade Wi-Fi
(802.11 b/g) ensure messages are sent and received quickly, including those with
attachments.

Recognizing that location is relevant to every aspect of every day, the nuvifone M20 is
designed with location based services (LBS) at its core and has the most advanced LBS
experience of any Windows Mobile phone. Navigation functions are linked to frequently
used applications such as calendar, contacts, email, internet applications and more,
simplifying the nuvifone user?s day as they travel from one location to another.
The nuvifone M20 supports download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps and offers a desktop-style
web browsing experience. Users can zoom and pan web pages with their finger as they
view the information in either portrait or landscape orientation. In addition, they can easily navigate to an address on a web page with only a few taps of the screen.

The GPS features of the nuvifone M20 usher in a level of sophistication never seen before
on a Windows Mobile smartphone. It has the navigation capability of a premium Garmin
nuvi sat nav, and comes with preloaded maps and points of interest (POIs) ? hotels,
restaurants, stores, fuel stations and more ? for North America, Eastern and Western
Europe, or other regions. Selecting a destination is straightforward and requires limited
input from the user. For example, users can search for a destination by typing in the specific name or address of an establishment, search by category, or navigate to
addresses in the nuvifone M20?s contact database or on the web. The device then gives
turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions and automatically recalculates if a turn is missed
along the way. In addition, the nuvifone includes quick access to online points of interest through internet enabled local search. The nuvifone harnesses the power of the worldwide web and information about local merchants and attractions is continually updated.

The nuvifone M20 takes GPS navigation one step further via Connected Services, a suite of
online applications and data from Garmin-Asus that adds location intelligence to
navigation, phone and browser functions. The expandable list of applications includes
content like real-time traffic information, White Pages, weather, flight status, local events, and movie times.

The nuvifone product line also includes Ciao!, a ground-breaking LBS application that
helps users stay up to date on their friends? whereabouts and status by linking numerous
location-centric social networks. Through Ciao!, nuvifone users will see their friends?
location on a map and then be able to navigate to that location with ease. Nuvifone users
can also choose to have the nuvifone automatically update their social network location
information.

The nuvifone M20 has exceptional entertainment capabilities with the combination of a
2.8? TFT touch lens display, built-in microphone and speakers, built-in 4Gb/8Gb My
Storage, and ActiveSync for Outlook, Microsoft Office, and multi-media synchronization. The VGA (640x480) display brings action to life when watching video or looking at photographs. The three megapixel camera automatically geotags images with the exact latitude and longitudinal coordinates. Users can then save the image on their phone, email it to a friend, or navigate to where the image was taken.

Garmin-Asus expects to announce the nuvifone M20?s pricing and availability information
in the first half of 2009.

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The quad-band GSM nuvifone G60 with 3.5G was designed for high speed downlink packet
access (HSDPA) networks and supports Wi-Fi for fast data connections.

The nuvifone G60 has a large 3.55-inch display that features three primary icons ? ?Call,?
?Search,? and ?View Map.? Secondary icons appear on the side of the home screen and
can be organized by the user?s preference. Customers can easily scroll through the icons
by swiping their finger across the large touchscreen display, and a built-in accelerometer
allows every screen to be viewed in either portrait or landscape orientation.

The nuvifone G60 was developed with an LBS-centric design philosophy. Location
information is added to everyday applications including email, SMS, photo sharing, social
networking and more in order to enhance applications and share location information with
others.

Navigation is at the heart of the nuvifone G60. The nuvifone G60?s sat nav operates like a
Garmin nuvi with preloaded maps of North America or Eastern and Western Europe, and
has millions of points of interest (POIs) including hotels, restaurants and street addresses.

The POIs can be easily accessed for turn-by-turn voice prompted directions. If a turn is
missed along the route, the nuvifone G60 automatically recalculates a route and gets the
user back on track. In addition, the nuvifone includes quick access to online points of
interest through internet enabled local search. The nuvifone harnesses the power of the
worldwide web and information about local merchants and attractions is continually
updated.

Users can also supplement the POI data with LBS-centric applications from Connected
Services, a suite of online applications and dynamic relevant data from Garmin-Asus that
adds location intelligence to navigation, phone and browser functions. The expandable list
of applications and content includes real-time traffic information, White Pages, weather,
flight status, local events, and movie times.

The nuvifone product line also includes Ciao!, a ground-breaking LBS application that
helps users stay up to date on their friends? whereabouts and status by linking numerous
location-centric social networks. Through Ciao!, nuvifone users will see their friends?
location on a map and then be able to navigate to that location with ease. Nuvifone users
can also choose to have the nuvifone automatically update their social network location
information.

The nuvifone G60 features an advanced mobile HTML web browser. Users can surf the
web on their phone via Wi-Fi or 3G networks, and the information is presented similar to a
PC browser. The nuvifone G60 supports POP3 and IMAP4 email such as Yahoo, Hotmail
and Gmail. The touchscreen soft keyboard is customizable to QWERTY or A to Z, making it
easy to send and receive messages. The nuvifone G60 also includes predictive text to help
prevent typing errors.

The LBS-centric nature of the nuvifone G60 shines through when using the three
megapixel camera with auto-focus. The camera automatically geotags images with an
exact latitude and longitude reference of where the image was taken. The user may then
save the image so they can navigate back to the location, or email the geo-tagged image
to others. The nuvifone also provides direct access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing photographs available through Google?s Panoramio picture sharing site. The
Panoramio photos are searchable and are sorted by the distance from the current location.

Although cell phones have long been considered an important device for safety, the
nuvifone G60 takes it one step further by allowing individuals to place calls and identify
their exact GPS location while making a phone call. With one touch of the screen during a
phone call, the ?Where am I?? features tells users their exact latitude and longitude
coordinates, nearest address, intersection, hospital, police station and gas station. And to help drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or crowded parking lot, the nuvifone G60 automatically marks the position in which it was last removed from the windshield mount.

Garmin-Asus expects to announce the nuvifone G60?s pricing and availability in the first
half of 2009.

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