Garmin reaffirms 1H 2009 shipment of nuvifone

Man, a lot -- a lot -- has happened in the mobile space since Garmin went public with its then-mesmerizing nüvifone. Nearly a year later, it's become but a blip on the radar behind the Touch HD, G1, XPERIA X1 and iPhone 3G. Nevertheless, Garmin has come out and reaffirmed that the long-awaited handset will actually not be delayed once more, and that the "first half of 2009" shipping estimate is still valid. Let's just say that $500+ price tag we saw floating around back in May better be substantially lower whenever this thing finally gets around to hitting up a store shelf.

[yeahyeahyeah @ Oct 29th 2008 10:40AM]

yikes, talk about dead on arrival...

unless they add any significant improvements ofcourse

[Abhishek @ Oct 29th 2008 10:44AM]

Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!

[joe23521 @ Oct 29th 2008 10:48AM]

"Then-mesmerizing" just about sums it up.

[Loban @ Oct 29th 2008 3:39PM]

Well, considering you still can't beat Garmin's GPS performance, accuracy and routing, while this iteration may not be well received, but if they don't let it discourage them and get a nuviphone 2 out quickly enough, it could be a contender. This first iteration was a learning process for them, perhaps now that they've gotten it out of the way, they can catch up.

[Patriks7 @ Oct 29th 2008 10:58AM]

Well first half of 2009 is a 6 month period.. they better not fuck that one up..

[Nicky-Larson @ Oct 29th 2008 11:08AM]

This is what happens when a Product that people so want gets delayed over and over and over again. Eventually, something better comes along and swoops that interest away. I feel sorry for them because I also wanted this phone. But with Touch Pro out, I lost interest. With all the RAM it has, I can run any GPS Software with no problem. Its a shame though because this phone had so much hope, but the overwaiting has killed the hype, almost like the Xperia X1. Good Phone though

[Brian @ Oct 29th 2008 11:25AM]

It's a good thing most people aren't as focused on having top of the line hardware as Engadget readers... otherwise this phone would be bust.

Just remember, most cell phone users don't even know the difference between a 300mhz, 400mhz, and 500mhz ARM processor, they don't know the advantages and disadvantages of Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, and the Android, (in it's infancy), and they don't know the difference between storage and program memory.

The only things "most people" know are how many megapixels the camera is, how much storage the device has, and the speed of the internet connection on the phone. (non-3G or 3G)

-Written by an HTC Touch user (This phone is still hot stuff, and I've owned this for one year!)
-Written by a Garmin Mobile XT user (Yea, my HTC Touch is basically a Nuvi)

[fastm3driver @ Oct 29th 2008 12:01PM]

This will need built in maps and 8GB to hold them to get me excited about this. It would be interesting to sell it as a GPS too with out activation. I have had a ique for many years not and love it more than any current product for Garmin or anyone because it is smaller and lets me sync contacts and routes. It also has a better rez screen than most on the market today. They should probably retool this to be a Android phone but that would probably be a bigger delay.

[Johan S @ Oct 29th 2008 12:47PM]

It better be dirt cheap and come with a decent web browser,

Unless they've put an 800x480 or better screen on it.

[rusmo @ Oct 29th 2008 1:41PM]

Thank you for calling NuviPhone!

Press 1 to make a phone call.
Press 2 to get directions to the nearest movie theater.
Press 3 to check your email.
...
...Why don't you just tell me what you want to do?

[crow610 @ Oct 29th 2008 1:53PM]

LOVE IT!

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Oct 29th 2008 2:02PM]

I really love my Nuvi 350, and it would be so cool to have a device like that with a built-in cellphone that snaps into the hardwired mount in my car, does speakerphone over the car's audio system, etc etc. The Garmin mount is just great. But of course their software feels horrendously dated compared to the iPhone. I'm sure the UI will be much better on the Nuviphone, but the problem they're going to face is that the device will have to be one of the best phones you can buy, with great GPS functionality too... rather than just a GPS nav system with a marginally functional phone tacked on.

Time will tell, but I think this thing is DOA. I don't even think the market can support WinMo anymore (when they get around to shipping WM7 next year), with Android and the iPhone. Actually WinMo will probably just be the final blow to Symbian, occupying a distant third place behind the first two. God knows where Garmin fits here.

It will be interesting to see if the Nuviphone or WM7 ships first. My money is on WM7.

[Nate @ Oct 29th 2008 2:15PM]

I still think there is room for this phone to be a huge hit. It's bad for Garmin that they couldn't deliver sooner. It just means more competition for them to deal with when it finally gets released.

[holycow @ Oct 29th 2008 2:43PM]

My GPS + iPhone is going on eBay once this comes out!

[Tim @ Oct 29th 2008 6:45PM]

I'm putting my iPhone on a shelf and forgetting about it when this comes out.

[PEZ @ Oct 29th 2008 5:58PM]

I love Garmin, but you know, they would have been better off using a preexisting OS and building a kick ass navi software for it... Say.. ANDROID, and or OpenMoko. I do hope its a good handset. I wanted it before I got the ip3g, then dumped it for the G1 after returning to Tmo.. this one might be unsubsidized and sold overseas first.. who knows. Probably go to ATT anyway.