Garmin, Asus Plan Location-centric Mobile Phones
The
partners have announced a strategic alliance that will leverage their
navigation and mobile telephony expertise to make co-branded
location-centric mobile phones. The product line is christened
Garmin-Asus nüvifone series.
The
companies expect to bring to market Garmin-Asus nüvifone models in 2009,
and a new Garmin-Asus nüvifone model will be announced at the
Mobile
World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, February 16-19, 2009.
“We
believe that converged devices are an emerging opportunity,” said Dr.
Min Kao, chairman and CEO of Garmin Ltd.
All
Garmin-Asus nüvifone devices will be LBS-centric devices that seamlessly
connect, communicate and navigate. The original Garmin nüvifone that was
announced in 2008 will be re-branded as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 and
is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2009.
“Through this alliance, our companies will continue to develop
innovations that simplify life,” said Jonney Shih, CEO of ASUSTeK
Computer Inc.
LBS
functionality is going to be the core to the Garmin-Asus nüvifone
series, which will offer the same turn-by-turn, voice-prompted
navigation features found on high-end Garmin portable navigation devices
(PND).
It has
preloaded maps and millions of points of interest that allow drivers to
quickly find a specific street address, establishment’s name or search
for a destination by category.
In
addition, the nüvifone includes quick access to online points of
interest through internet enabled local search. Using the web, the
nüvifone information about local merchants and attractions is
continually updated.
The
nüvifone also features Ciao!, a social networking application to bridge
the gap between multiple location based social networks and integrates
them seamlessly into one device.
Photo courtesy: ASUSTeK
