Garmin Nuvifone hitting AT&T for $500 plus?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 1st 2008 3:26AM
posted May 1st 2008 3:26AM
"Now, how likely would you be to buy the Garmin nüvifone (for yourself or as a gift) if offered by AT&T for $499.99 with a two year contract? You would be required to have both a data plan that would include unlimited Internet browsing and unlimited Navigation for $19.99 per month and one of the standard voice rate plans for a monthly fee."
So dear readers, we ask you... does that sound reasonable for a 3.5-inch touchscreen cellphone with GPS navigation, 3.5G data, WiFi, audio and video playback, and 3 megapixel camera?
your comment made my eyes bleed. i hope you're drunk. if not, you should spent that $500+$20/mo on communication classes and English/grammar/spelling/life books.
spend*
Seriously - $500???
Would have to have a pretty sweet - and I mean sweet - total experience. At that price point - it can't just be features - the browser / email / voicemail /gps integration would have to be very innovative. I like the look and idea of it - but it better have a complete package...
T
The Garmin HAS real GPS on it... seeing as its a phone coming from a GPS manufacturer. The subscription for GPS is either for the turn by turn or map information, which the phone doesnt seem to have the memory built in to hold.
$500 is too much for a phone that may not have an extensible OS with an enthusiastic community of developers like Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian or iPhone.
Give me robust ActiveSync support and I'll consider it :)
$500? With a 2-year contract? I expected it to hit at $700-800 without any contract and near-free ($100-200) for US buyers with a contract. Looks like someone thinks NuviPhone is way superior to iPhone...
Its a bad idea to compare a GPS navigation device with build-in phone and a media player with build-in phone and internet. They are just totally different things.
What would I choose out of two? Neither, I'd wait for 3G iPhone :)
My opinion - not worth it.
no; it's the contract that kills the deal. I am an iphone owner and I didn't really want to agree to the contract for it. I think I have a little buyers remorse I wouldn't do it again.
This was going to be my next phone because I love garmin GPS, but there is no way I'm paying $20 extra/mo. just to use the GPS.
its $20 for UNLIMITED DATA as well as GPS... what does any other data package get you? For the iphone, you need to subscribe to att just to use the ipod functions. IDiot.
Cool phone, poor choice of carrier...
Garmin is not trying to compete with the iPhone. Seriously, are you going to accuse every touch screen phone as copying the iPhone? Apple was not the first touch screen mobile phone -- IBM's Simon (1994) was...
Many Garmin Nuvi GPS models include most of these features already... My Garmin Nuvi 360 has GPS (obviously), an MP3 player, Audible player, picture viewer, and bluetooth handsfree calling (via a bluetooth connected phone).
Adding a built-in phone is the next logical step for Garmin. And while they were at it, they changed the form factor so it could be used as a handset phone.
The Nuviphone isn't trying to be the next iPhone. It's the next generation of Garmin Nuvi GPS devices.
"It's the next generation of Garmin Nuvi GPS devices."
So their next generation of Garmin GPS devices charge a montly fee to use the GPS?
I suspect the $20 charge for Data and Navigation is misleading. I am guessing the GPS will work just fine on its own, but there will be value added services, and those are what you will be paying for. TomTom on the pocket pc is the same, the GPS on my tilt works just fine, but for traffic and other added services, there is a monthly service fee. Having ATT (or whatever provider they chose if they get on board with another one further down the line) add that service charge in with the data, means the user does not have to deal with billing from different companies.
I took the same survey and for me it asked about $299 and $20/month.
This should be tough competitor to the next gen iphone. I'm curious as to how the music playing will work, as this might be a fairly serious difficulty as far as feature sets go. The next gen iphone (price?) should have the nuvifone matched in pretty much every other way from what I can tell. At $300, I'd seriously consider this thing. At $500, probably not so much.
As another comparison, look at the ATT Tilt combined with Garmin's own Mobile XT software package: Windows Mobile 6 + GPS + 3G + Wifi + Qwerty for a total package price of
Look folks, the $20 for unlimited Data is a steal considering it is the SAME as an iPhone.
And I don't hear anybody complaining about the iPhone's Data requirements.
The unlimited for this NuviPhone will be great, especially for those who are going to screw around with sending their location over data to their buddies.
The specs clearly state that this unit has built-in maps and a gps receiver, NOT an A-GPS (which would require the network).
a-GPS doesn't REQUIRE the network
How it works is the phone looks to see roughly what area it's in (from the cell towers) and tells the GPS it's in that area, the GPS then has less calculating to do. If there's no cell coverage it works like a normal GPS.
The iPhone ONLY has the first part of this, the cell tower rough area finding.
"does that ($499) sound reasonable for a 3.5-inch touchscreen cellphone with GPS navigation, 3.5G data, WiFi, audio and video playback, and 3 megapixel camera?"
Plenty of people thought it sounded reasonable for a 3.5-inch touchscreen cellphone WITHOUT GPS navigation, EDGE data, WiFi, audio and video playback, and 1 megapixel camera.
Like, er, the one in my pocket.
If Garmin can deliver a solid OS with it, Apple's iPhone 2.0 better have GPS, 3G, and a better camera ... and a similar price. If the Garmin's OS is ripped straight from the nüvi or something, forget about it.
Does anyone know what brand of web browser they use. Is it Firefox, minimo, Opera?
Hey, this thing has a built in GPS. I don't think there is a charge to use navigation. The charge is for the data plan to access the internet and things like traffic. If I'm not mistaken, navigation is what this thing is all about; that's what you spend $500 for.
Given that we pay almost that much for a satnav with traffic, seems like a bargain to geet a phone, browswer and camera in the bargain. Two thumbs up!
I think everyone is missing the point. The $20 is part of the voice/data tarriff which is needed to buy the phone. This is not a charge for the GPS, which is a feature of the phone.
I'd consider the higher price, would likely snatch one at 300 bones. I'm on AT&T with a Z9 and VZ with a 755p, and have a TomTom GO 910, and I'm a Mac owner. I like the hype for the 3G iPod, but it's all conjecture right now.
Real estate agents would kill for a device like a nuviphone, tho' they'd be missing that keyboard on their BBs, WinMos, and Treos. I could ditch my Z9 and TomTom and use the cash to buy a nuviphone - I frickin hate TomTom's crappy TeleAtlas maps here in the States. I like the AT&T Navigator better than VZ's version, but the maps take too long to get to the Z9 - I'm halfway there before it's telling me where to go and where I'm at.
It's simple to me. Play music, surf the web, use the phone once in a while, get an iPhone. Need a tool with some benefits, use the phone once in a while, get a nuviphone. If the nuviphone is made in Europe or NA, the choice gets easier for me....
Hey I work at latteland and that is on the plaza(kansas city) I would say 47th st. I work at the jefferson store.
Not bad, I'd bite. ATT has a leg up on Verizon in the phone market. I just wish all my friends and family weren't part of the Verizon network so I could make the switch. Hopefully this phone will be available when Verizon opens it's network.
I think Apple has way too much of a head start, and a much broader appeal than Garmin at this point.
People will buy the phone with the best experience and a separate GPS unit before buying the best GPS unit with an OK phone.
The iPhone already offers the user experience and content that the majority seem to want, with new applications coming through the API, and pretty soon 3G and likely true GPS.
Garmin has to get so many things right to even get close to Apple. In areas it has no real experience like Music and video they will probably partner with firms that have not managed to push Apple off the podium today, which leaves navigation as their only key offering.
Apple already has an interface with Google Maps, and as we can see Google is getting into Garmin's space in a big way by teaming with the likes of BMW and Mercedes. All Apple has to do to kill the Garmin is deliver a solid navigation tool in partnership with Google. It doesn't even have to be as solid as Garmin to start with.
Just my two cents.
$499 +$(20*24) + $(39*24). This is WAY OUT OF LINE. Prices should be coming down not going up.
I've looked at ALL the features of this device and AT&T with all it's way-to-expensive plans and you have got to be kidding me!
I'd pay $199 and if they included internet with the exorbitant $39 voice plan.
This would fly off the shelves, as it should, but not for $500 freaking dollars plus that extra data rip-off only an idiot would pay $20/mo. charge.
When are the smart people going to help the idiots get a clue and stop this rip-of madness the carriers throwing at us?
Any smart people out there? I suspect not very many.
$500 seems high; they are probably testing different price points via the survey.. gives the market research department something to do.
To me it looks like a rip of of LG's new VU phone that will be coming, and probally better since they have more experience in the phone industry. Any news of this phone comming to Canada?
I took the sam survey today and the price on my survey was $299. Still wouldn't replace my iPhone with it tho.
"You would be required to have both a data plan that would include unlimited Internet browsing and unlimited Navigation for $19.99 per month and one of the standard voice rate plans for a monthly fee"
This is a poorly written sentence that is throwing some people off... the $20/month fee is for UNLIMITED DATA and navigation. This makes sense, since you will be using the data network to do things like Google searches for 'pizza' and then using the navigation features to find your way to the nearest pizza place (for an example). The $20 fee is not to use GPS. The unlimited data plan for the iPhone is $20 WITHOUT GPS.
no, too expensive plus i already own garmin gps
I would only spend $500 on another iphone
"Unlimited Internet and Navigation $19.99 month"
I think that just needs more explanation. It will always work free as a navigator, just like the current models do. The difference is that they are (probably) going to throw in free map updates on some kind of set schedule, using the internet to download them, whereas you have to pay $75-$85 per year to Garmin for a DVD update of the maps on all the other devices. The DVDs are always at least a year and a half behind in the actual data as well. The 2008 Garmin map update has late 2006 data in it. Maybe the map updates to the phone can be issued in a more timely manner. At any rate, you are never going to pay anyone in the US to use our government sponsored GPS satellites. Just the map updates.
Hey retards,
The 19.99 includes unlimited internet browsing as well as the gps which auto updates for you.
If you had a standard device with ATT, the internet would be $15 monthly plus $10 for unlimited gps.
On a data device you are looking at $30-40 for unlimited internet plus $10 for gps.
It is not that expensive. If you cant afford it, then oh well!!
with VZW though you need to pay $40 for just unlimited internet, so add that to the $10 VZNav, and you got yourself a $30 charge over the cost of this.
I took that same survey and have a saved pic of 299.99.
Garmin getting into... phone?
The market is really heating up -but- I doubt Garmin has enough appeal for the average consumer.
The device has a gorgeous interface and will the easiest to use handset on the market, by far.
Get ready to eBay your iPhone... there seems to be a huge demand for them in South America.
Also, if you have any problem with this phone, Garmin has the best product support of any tech company. (If I may say so myself)
I was very interested in the Garmin phone until i heard the gps would be a paid monthly service. I expected the device to be a gps first with phone capabilities secondary and not a water down cell tower gps. very disappointed, i have no intention to purchase this product now. IF the phone had satellite gps (no additional cost) then I'd have no problem paying $500 or so for the phone and signing a two year contract for the cell phone services. I'm very pleased with my hand held and my car gps from Garmin and I thought this phone would be a great all in one product that gave me gps capability walking on the street, hiking or in my car but I'm turned off on the phone now. Sounds like its like every other cell, pda device that has gps features. I'll stick with my hand held and my car gps (from garmin) but I will go with a different cell phone and stick with someone like Nokia who specialize in phones for cell service. Very disappointed.