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]

Hey, remember the Nuvifone? Sure you do -- it's Garmin's entry into the wide world of smartphones. You know, the company's Linux-based, proprietary OS phone that's heavy on GPS integration? Well according to a recent report, plans to launch the device in the first half of 2009 have stalled, with the company stating that it will be pushing the window back towards something closer to Q3. President and COO Cliff Pemble expounded on the difficulties of building a smartphone from scratch during a conference call with analysts, noting "Smartphones are complicated and bringing one to market that's built totally from the ground up on a custom Linux platform is not an easy task." If you'll recall, the original announcement of the Nuvifone was way back in January of 2008, with a planned release in Q3 of that year -- placing this new launch a full 12 months out from the intended street date. We're all for competitors in this market, but it seems like maybe the folks at Garmin jumped the gun with all these dates they've been dropping on us -- missed launches don't exactly promote confidence.

[Via PMP Today]

We've been waiting on pins and needles for confirmation, but it looks like an all-too-vague Reuters report actually is referring to the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60. After a senior company official noted that a "Linux-based operating system" would be used in one of its two smartphones, we pinged Garmin directly to cut through the mystery and get down to the meat. What we were told was this: "The Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 has a proprietary Linux-based OS, and we're still working towards delivering the nüvifone G60 in the first half of 2009 in limited markets, which haven't been named yet." Of course, the tandem is quickly running out in months in that window, so we're pretty jazzed to be all up on top of an imminent release. Now, if only we knew where those patience pills made off to...

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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]

Even a solid year after its announcement, we still don't have an exact price or date for the nuvifone G60 -- but we do have a little bit better of an idea of what exactly we're going to be getting. We already knew that it'd feature a 3.5-inch (well, 3.55-inch, to be exact) display and HSDPA, and now we know that it'll feature the same Ciao! buddy-finding software found in its M20 stablemate. There'll be a 3 megapixel autofocus cam complete with geotagging, WiFi, preloaded maps for either North American or Eastern and Western Europe depending on your region, and dummy-resistant tools like "Where am I?" that should be familiar to current nuvi users. The interface looks promising -- and the specs are still reasonably competitive by 2009 standards -- but all will be revealed when the G60 gets put through its paces in a few days.

Gallery: Garmin slips out a few more nuvifone G60 details

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Friends -- the Engadget Podcast is here for you once again. It's time to kick off your shoes, twist your hat sideways, whip the tie across the room, and settle in for some good old, homespun tech punditry. Join Josh, a newly-healthy Paul, and Nilay as they whisk you away to the promised land of gadgety goings-on. Today you can hear the boys discuss Windows 7 SKUs, rap about Nüvifone developments, answer reader questions, and so much more. Strap in for the most thrilling ride you'll ever take. Ever.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: 4 Minutes

00:01:09 - Engadget's recession antidote
00:04:35 - Buy this book: Chris Ziegler's 'T-Mobile G1 For Dummies'
00:06:23 - BlackBerry Blowout: Storm vs. Bold vs. Curve 8900
00:16:45 - Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst nightmare has come to pass
00:35:10 - Windows 7 multitouch: it's a gimmick (for now)
00:47:08 - Toshiba TG01 GUI, video playback demoed on film
00:53:45 - Garmin, ASUS form partnership for phones, nuvifone G60 first model
01:03:54 - Reader questions


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We knew the nuvifone was an ASUS-sourced piece, but who knew the partnership was going to run so deep? Garmin and ASUS have joined hands to create the Garmin-Asus strategic alliance with the goal of designing and producing a whole line of co-branded handsets. The first model will be what we've come to know so well over the past year simply as "the nuvifone," but it'll be branded as the nuvifone G60 by the time it actually comes to market in the first half of the year. Several Garmin-Asus phones are expected in 2009, and it sounds like the second model in the series will be announced at MWC later this month. Now, wouldn't it just be great if we had a G60 here that we could use to navigate to Barcelona?

Update: Engadget Chinese just returned from the press conference in Taiwan with several updates. First, the OS on these phones has not been finalized. According to ASUS' chairman, "We have expertise in WinMo, Linux and Android, but we believe the software is more important then the OS." The partnership, which puts Garmin in charge of the "Navigation centric" UI also brings an end to ASUS-only branded cellphones.

So Garmin's coming out swinging in response to that Digitimes piece this morning suggesting that Android-based devices are on the way -- sort of. The company says that "the story contains a number of inaccuracies in both sales figures and product rollout schedules," and while it does say it has "an Android-based phone under development," it also reminds us that Nuvifone won't be it; instead, Garmin's first modern entry into the world of telephony will be based on a proprietary build of Linux, as was originally planned. We have to question the wisdom of this two-pronged approach since it almost obsoletes the Nuvifone before it's even released, but then again, maybe they're just pushing to get something out the door -- we've been waiting for this puppy for a year now, after all. See the full statement after the break.

Some interesting news is coming out of the Garmin camp this fine morning, including word that the company somehow managed to buck all manner of economic trends and boost its holiday sales by 50 percent over 2007. (Apparently peoples' 401(k) valuations weren't the only things getting lost this year.) The company also confirmed that its Nuvifone, which is getting a bit long in the tooth despite being unavailable, is indeed still coming -- but won't be hitting Taiwan at least until Q2 of next year, and there's no indication of whether we'll be seeing it a little earlier 'round these parts. Finally, and most intriguingly, is confirmation of what the company plans to do first with that freshly laminated Open Handset Alliance membership card: multiple new Android phones are said to be in the works, due for release sometime in the second half of 2009. No further information is available, and while the smart thing might be for Garmin to focus on getting its first handset out the door before drafting a successor, we think any excuse for a new costume on our favorite green Android is a good one.

[Via GPS Tracklog]

Every once in a while we're reminded that Garmin's Nuvifone -- announced nearly a year ago -- still exists, and this time around it's none other than the FCC doing the reminding. The curiously-named "Calf" from ASUS turns out to be the Nuvifone once you click through to the label diagrams, and test documentation reveals that 3G is being tested on both Bands II and V -- that's North America-friendly 1900 and 850MHz, for those who aren't up to snuff on their spectrum terminology. With gub'mint certification under its belt, maybe we can push that 1H 2009 release window to 1Q, eh, Garmin?

[Thanks, cl347bv]

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.

Oh, Nuvifone, how you disappoint us. Over here at IFA we just managed to get a Garmin rep to whip out his Nuvifone prototype for a quick look, but sadly, almost a year after the device was first announced, there really wasn't anything new to see. We still aren't allowed to take video of the interface, or really see much of the phone other than the home screen, and when the rep tried to show us how the Nuvifone kicks the iPhone's ass in navigation, the Nuvi promptly crashed -- so at least those two have that in common. Not that we should be surprised, Garmin mentioned last month that the phone had been delayed into 2009, but we're quickly running out of patience, as well as any scrap of remaining hope for this thing to actually matter when it does arrive. Peep the gallery for a little bit of iPhone 3G versus action.

Somehow this doesn't surprise us. According to a statement released ahead of Garmin's Q2 earnings call, the company says it will be delaying the release of its Nuvifone from late 2008 until the first half of 2009. In the press release, the satnav-maker says it has "found that meeting some of the carrier specific requirements will take longer than anticipated," and claims it is "working toward making necessary design changes to meet their requirements." Here's hoping the bump stems from these minor niggles with carriers, versus trouble with the phone itself, which was running only a partially operational OS last time we saw it.

[Via GPS Tracklog]

Word on the street (and by "street" we mean mysterious corners of the internet) is that Garmin's upcoming Nuvifone will actually be manufactured by the ubiquitous and varied ASUS. According to "industry sources" -- that rare breed never seen yet often heard -- the two companies have been working on the device for the past two years, with the computer-maker lending a hand in the RF technology department amongst other things. The sources further claim that the Nuvifone will be the first in a series handsets, with plans to roll out new models through 2010... the year we make contact. More on this breathtaking bit of news as we get it, faithful readers.

[Via Unwired View]