Gadget fans, breathe easy. The Garmin–Asus nuvifone G60, first shown off as the Garmin nüvifone almost two years ago, is finally set to land on shelves this month. In Taiwan at least. The chronically–delayed blower is said to be “on schedule” to hit Europe later this year. Read on to see if the wait really has been worth it.
When the Garmin nuvifone was first announced in January 2008, the iPhone 3G was just a rumour and Nokia was still battling to get a touchscreen cell into our mitts. But Taiwanese punters will be able to sate their need for high–end satnav and touchscreen telephony when the rebranded Garmin–Asus nüvifone G60 drops on 27 July.
With a roomy, iPhone 3GS–matching 3.5–inch touchscreen and GPS to match the satnav suckered on your windscreen, the nüvifone G60 is hoping to be a hit. But with a proprietary OS, based on Linux, the question is whether punters will be keen to fork out for one.
Garmin’s President certainly thinks so, stating, “The nüvifone is designed around that premise (GPS) and that’s what differentiates it from the myriad of other phones on the market.” The problem is Apple’s TomTom tie in and the N97’s top end satnav showing mean the nüvifone could be playing catch up. It is, after all, an aging mobile by comparison.
We’re hunting down a UK release date, so stay tuned for details as we get them.
Out 27 July [Taiwan] | £TBC | Garmin–Asus [via Engadget Mobile]
[...] seems like an age since we got our first tantalising glimpse of the Garmin nüvifone G60 (in fact it was January 2008), but the satnav-flavoured touchscreen phone is finally poised to hit [...]