The long rumored
Nuvifone jump to Android is here just as we get set to kick off Mobile World Congress next week. Garmin and ASUS claim that the A50 brings "more location technology than any other smartphone" with a plethora of location-aware apps making use of a highly sensitive (though unnamed) GPS receiver. Spec-wise, the A50 packs a 3.5-inch HVGA (that's 480x320 pixels, presumably) capacitive touchscreen with custom, finger-friendly UI, 4GB of internal storage with microSD expansion, and accelerometer for the usual portrait to landscape mode flip. The A50 uses satellite, network-based, and terrestrial sources to quickly zero in on your location and comes pre-loaded with Garmin turn-by-turn navigation, lane assist with junction view, and maps -- no need to download them over the network (and risk data dead spots), eh Google. In fact, it's ready for in-vehicle (ships with car mount and vehicle power cable) or pedestrian navigation out of the box. The A50 also brings on-device sync with Microsoft Exchange server and includes all the usual Google mobile services like search by voice, Maps with Street View, Gmail, YouTube, and Android Market. Rounding things out are a multitouch WebKit-based browser and 3 megapixel autofocus camera that automatically geo-tags your snaps. The A50 will launch in Europe in the first half of 2010 though pricing has not been announced. We're still digging for more specs but will definitely be back with a detailed hands-on from Barcelona next week.
Update: We have an insider telling us that the device runs Android 1.6 (something
we've seen before) and uses Qualcomm's
gpsOne platform for SatNav. Makes sense, but we won't be able to confirm until we meet with Garmin-Asus next week at MWC.
posted February 11th 2010 4:00AM
Not the right time for a launch - http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/10/solar-flares-set-to-wreak-havoc-with-gps-signals/#comments
@pavelgr
Sorry, but GPS isn't going away.
Garmin just pulled out it's wildcard: Android!
@BUNT2
huh? who said GPS is going away? how is Android, the mighty wild card, going to protect GPS satellites from solar flares!?
@wako
I believe @pavelgr alluded to that, which is why my comment was in reply to him.
@BUNT2 No! I love my Nokia LD-3W. I hope that GPS is never going away.
@BUNT2
The Important Thing is what version of Android does it run??? 1.5,1.6,2.0,2.1..?
@wako
mayyybe its got cool stuff like, GPS backup, so when the flares ... flare... then it uses cell towers to triangulate your location and still spits outstanding demanding commanding uhh ... NAHH
@liftedngifted1
According to our mobile analytics data that captured this device back in January, it runs 1.6:
http://www.mobiware.fr/2010/01/16/garmin-asus-android-nuvifone-device-spotted-in-the-wild/
Let's just hope they update their Android version by the time it is released...
@mobiware
SPAM!
@liftedngifted1 1.6
@pavelgr Chances GPS goes away. Zero. You do realize GPS is a US military system right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System
End of privacy as we know it
@mtnDewFTW Ppl said exactly the same when Google launched Latitude
Nuvifone is new duke nukem
despite the rather large gap between the bottom button and the screen, it looks quite nice imo
Now you have 2 built in GPS Nav systems on this phone. Seriously, while the fact that Garmin's GPS Nav is loaded on there and won't require a data connection might make it more useful in some situations,but the fact that Android already has GPS Nav kinda takes away from this phones uniqueness. If they had announced this before Google Nav, this would be getting a lot more hype.
finally after 2 years, too late?
it is brillant
mantolama
this is cool that asus & garmin work togheter on open source OS
On a (maybe) unrelated note, we also just spotted a "Garminfone" device from Garmin-Asus, also running Android 1.6:
http://www.mobiware.fr/2010/02/11/hello-garminfone/
Is it the A50 or another device ?
Why would Garmin use 2 different brands ("Nüvifone" and "Garminfone") for their GPS phones ?
@mobiware
Probably because Garmin Asus uses different branding in different regions. In some territories this will be an Asus phone and in some regions it will be a Garmin phone. I would guess that the region that will call this thing an Asus phone they might refer to it as the Asus Garminphone A50 or something.
They need to refine their branding as right now it's a mess. Clear up branding - one brand globally. Clear styling - family resemblance among offerings so we can look at it and know who made it without seeing the name.
isn't android 2+ the latest rage? Why still go with 1.6?
Hey, anything is better than the G60.
I run Android 3.4 Gateau Warfare on a Swarowski-encrusted TomTom and am generally dissatisfied with its performance
Hope this is the one coming to T-Mobile.
Looking forward to get Garmin on my HTC Magic ;)
Now THAT is one sexy phone! I just hope the bottom quarter of the phone has more than just one optical d-pad... I mean, that's a lot of real estate. Gesture area, maybe? If not, you have to wonder why they opted to make the screen so small?
@jakedroid
it has backlit touch-sensitive buttons, you just can't see 'em in the picture
This is a ridiculous attempt.
Considering it will mostly attract people who are willing to dish out enough money it should have been a higher-end phone.
And I am talking about a QWERTY keyboard, WVGA screen and a big battery.
Networks: HSDPA Cat 8 7.2Mbps, HSPA / WCDMA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 21001, GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, GPRS EDGE Class 12
Platform: Android 1.6 with Breeze UI
CPU: Qualcomm 7227 ARM 11, 600MHz
Memory: 4GB Flash + 256 MB SDRAM + 256 MB ROM
Connectivity: WLAN 802.11b+g, USB v2.0 (HS), Bluetooth 2.1
GPS: Qualcomm GPSOne, Assisted GPS, Aided GPS and standalone GPS supported
Display: 3.5, HVGA 320 x 480, TFT capacitive touch
Camera: 3 Mega-Pixel, Auto Focus
Others: Proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, e-compass, accelerometer
Battery: 1150mAh Lithium Ion
Standby Time: 250 hours
Talk Time: up to 3 hours
Expansion Slot: micro-SD (support SDHC)
Browser: WebKit browser
Messaging: SMS / IM / MMS
Email: MAP, POP3, Exchange
Exchange Support: Calendar, contacts, e-mail
Video Playback: MPEG4 / H.264 / H.263 / WMV
Video Recording: MPEG4 & H.263 with audio via AMR-NB
Streaming: Audio / Video
Audio/Ringtone: MP3 / WMA / AMR-NB / AAC / AAC+ / AAC+V2 / eAAC+, SP-MIDI
Advance Navigation/LBS feature: European maps & POIs, Connected Services2, Indoor location3, Junction view with lane assist3, Where am I?, Where’s My Car Parked?, Track Logs & Route Planning
Phone Applications: Google Search / Gmail / Google Calendar / Google Talk / Google Maps with Street View / YouTube / Picasa / Panoramio / Android Market