If you've a proven track record of delivering solid products to consumers (much like Garmin has), we'll cut you some slack for awhile if you happen to hit a snag or two along the way while bringing a completely new device to market. But after more delays than we care to count and a 1.5 year gap between announcement and right now, the benefit of the doubt vanishes. To that end, we couldn't be happier to report that Garmin's president and COO Cliff Pemble feels that it's "getting very close" to a carrier launch (AT&T, perhaps?) in the US. Said statement was given at a shareholders meeting today, and he also mentioned that the Asian market would see the Nuvifone "this month or in early July." We appreciate the update, but at this point, the burden of proof is squarely on you, Garmin.

[Via Electronista]

So, we played around with the new Windows Mobile-sportin' nuvifone M20 from Garmin-Asus this evening, but there's really not much to say: the software is barely even alpha at this point. Most every tap or swipe of the screen was met with a two or more second delay, and we managed to crash a couple of the phones. That said, it's clear that Garmin-Asus aren't just adding a pretty launcher to Windows Mobile and calling it a day, there's some good navigation and location-based stuff happening here, and we look forward to playing around with it all once it's closer to reality. We don't look forward to meeting the resistive touch screen a second time, but we'll just have to live with that fact -- at least the Garmin-Asus apps are all touch-optimized, but you might have to pull out the stylus for a gander at the rest of Windows Mobile 6.1.

Update: Official media handed out for the M20 reveals a small handful of new screen shots, mainly a swanky new media player and calling screen that really don't say a damned thing about the M20's deep-rooted nav capabilities. Thing is, when you have a winged disco ball, you can get away with bending a whole lotta rules -- but yeah, this is one phone where we think we'd rather let the hardware do the talking.

You know it people. It's the Engadget Podcast, back on the most terrifying Friday in February (or any month for that matter) -- the 13th. This week you get to hear the dudes discuss the Kindle 2 / Stephen King encounters, new offerings from Garmin on the mobile front, predictions for Mobile World Congress (which starts next week), and so, so, so much more. Settle in and get ready to glide on the gentle sounds of Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, and special guest host Chris Ziegler. We guarantee you'll love it.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel
Special guest host: Chris Ziegler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Friday the 13th theme

00:02:00 - Kindle 2 first hands-on!
00:07:25 - Know Your Rights: Does the Kindle 2's text-to-speech infringe authors' copyrights?
00:16:33 - Palm's done with PalmOS, plans to get Pre on other carriers in 2010, speaks to patent issues
00:22:27 - Sprint Treo Pro getting delayed into a bleak, uncertain future?
00:31:45 - Data tethering is a go on Palm Pre
00:37:40 - Garmin-Asus announces Windows Mobile-based nuvifone M20
00:38:50 - Garmin slips out a few more nuvifone G60 details
00:50:15 - An Engadget adventure with TeleNav's G1 GPS software: hands-on, impressions, and video
01:00:30 - Samsung Acme i8910 gets caught flashing its S60 5th Edition
01:05:25 - MWC predictions

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We'd been secretly holding out hope that Garmin-Asus would pull an Android piece out of its pocket in time for MWC next week, but it's looking pretty unlikely with the announcement of the M20. The second model in the nuvifone series following the G60, the new piece runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and features a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, quadband EDGE / triband HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps, WiFi, Bluetooth, and -- naturally -- Garmin-provided satellite navigation. You'll also find support for real-time traffic, weather, movie times, and other tidbits of information you're probably interested in when you're navigating, either 4 or 8GB of onboard storage, and a service Garmin is calling Ciao! -- basically a friend-finder along the lines of Google's Latitude. Look for pricing and availability to be announced in the first half of the year. Check out the gallery below, and the full spec sheet after the break.

[Via MarketWatch]

Reincomm just announced the new iriver NV Life, the official name of its M20 prototype. New in that they've done away with the big, navigation pad of the original NV in favor of a more sleek, easily portable SatNav device with PMP functionality. Still, it's a near spec-for-spec clone of the bigger, bulkier NV. Available in either 2GB ?328,000 (about $367) or 4GB ?358,000 (about $400) capacities, the SiRF Star III GPS device dedicates an SD slot to maps and second to augment the onboard flash. Inside, the WinCE 5.0-based device packs an FM-transmitter, DMB TV (with GPS PiP support), and a wide selection of codecs synonymous with the iriver name. The only downside is the display: 800 x 480 pixels spread across 7-inches of glass. On par with the industry but pretty poor when compared to cellphones which offer the same resolution on 2.8-inch displays.


[Via Akihabara News]

We already had the dry details on the M20: a 7-inch PMP with built-in GPS navigation and DMB television. Now the sweet visual jam spread out on your LCD display. Look, don't lick.

Just to make sure it got all its bases covered, iriver is tossing a new e-dictionary and a new GPS device into its CES 2008 lineup. The new D30 (above) is set to be iriver's flagship e-dictionary, and sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, 2GB of storage and over 50 dictionaries. Iriver is also packing in DMB where available, Flash games, an FM tuner and voice recorder. On the nav front, the new M20 sports GPS navigation and regular PMP functions on its 7-inch LCD, along with DMB in applicable markets. No word on price or availability for either of these, and we haven't spotted a picture just yet.

Not a whole lot to see here -- other than pixels, of course. Pentax is squeezing a few more megapixels out of their Optio A and M series with the new 10 megapixel A20 and 7 megapixel M20, bumped from 8 and 6 megapixels respectively. The A20 is also privy to Shake Reduction, High ISO and Movie Anti-shake technologies, while the M20 manages a High ISO mode, all targeted and sharpening up those action shots or shaky-cam moments. Most of the other specs remain rather mundane, such as 2.5-inch LCDs and 3x zoom lenses, though SDHC is a nice addition, and both cameras do seem to have slimmed down just a bit. Otherwise it doesn't look like these consumer shooters have much more to offer than their predecessors, and the prices haven't budged much either, with the M20 shipping in September for $200, and the A20 following in October for $350. Check a pic of the M20 after the break.

Why just swipe one product design when you could be keepin' it real fake-er with two unabashed design steals? M-Cody asks that question with their new M20 music player, which merges a few stylings of LG's uber-popular Chocolate phone with a nice helping of iPod nano to create a quite stylish and sexy -- if a bit unoriginal -- music player. The specs aren't that bad, with MP3, WMA and OGG support, flash storage ranging from 512MB to 2GB and a nano bustin' 1.1 to 1.4-ounce weight. The positively bulky 0.3-inch thickness doesn't quite match up though, and 128 x 64 pixel OLED display isn't going to win many awards either. We don't have a price or launch dates yet, but this presumably China-bound player isn't looking too shabby -- fakery and all.