Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 and A50 hands-on

So, we had a few precious moments to play around with Garmin-Asus’ latest Nuvifones here in lovely Barcelona today — the M10 and A50, running on Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and Android 1.6, respectively — and even better, we did so in the back of a black Mercedes expressly purposed for testing out the integrated turn-by-turn capabilities. Follow the break for our quick impressions!

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Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 and A50 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on February 14, 2010 at 8:25 am by Chris Ziegler · Permalink · Comments Closed
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Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 gets handled, reviewed in the wilds of Russia

We just heard about Garmin-Asus’ WinMo 6.5.3-packin’ M10 yesterday, and already the handset has been broken out for a photo shoot and hands-on review in Russia. The design itself isn’t anything otherworldly, but we have to say — we’re kind of digging the user interface. Granted, we’ve a soft spot in our hearts for Garmin’s nuvi line of PNDs, so anything remotely familiar gets a big thumbs-up ’round these parts. At any rate, critics noted that the phone was a pleasant mix of WinMo and nuvi, which is something that really sets it apart from other Windows Mobile-based offerings. There’s nary a mention of exactly how awesome this thing would be with Windows Mobile 7, but if you’re in no hurry to ponder the next big thing, give that source link a look.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 gets handled, reviewed in the wilds of Russia originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 offers Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with an obsession for navigation

Garmin-Asus phones, they’re like buses aren’t they — you wait for ages to get one, then two come along at the same time. Seeking to sate as many mobile OS appetites as possible, the partner company has quickly followed up its A50 Android handset with this here M10, sporting Microsoft’s latest Windows Mobile build. As only the second WinMo 6.5.3 device around, the M10 is as up to date as you can get on the software front, though earlier word of a slightly dated 600MHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 CPU will douse some enthusiasm on the hardware side. Then again, Garmin-Asus do furnish you with 512MB of both RAM and ROM and a decent 4GB of integrated storage, so it’s not like this is going to be a slouch or anything, and the 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen should also do a nice job of displaying the built-in turn-by-turn navigation. Location awareness is said to be ingrained in everything the phone does, with navigation functions attached to the calendar, web browser, messaging and email clients. Launch is slated for the first half of 2010, and you can quite naturally expect us to get all up close and personal with this handset at MWC next week.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 offers Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with an obsession for navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 runs Android, knows where you are turn-by-turn

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 480×320 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.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 runs Android, knows where you are turn-by-turn originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 emerges on Taiwanese pre-order page

It was only yesterday that we heard of this WinMo 6.5.3 beastie, and already Taiwanese ladies and gents can sign up to own one, pending a February 6 delivery. The new pre-order page confirms our earlier indications of a 3.5-inch WVGA display and 5 megapixel camera, while adding the knowledge of 512MB of both RAM and ROM, plus MicroSD storage expandability. A relatively low end Qualcomm MSM 7227 600MHz CPU drives the show here, and we’re told a spare battery (1,500mAh by default) or a car holder for navigation also come as part of the 13,900 TWD ($435) package. So, are you excited or what?

Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 emerges on Taiwanese pre-order page originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus taking wraps off first Android gear, M10 WinMo phone at MWC

It might be happening a little later than they’d originally hoped, but Garmin — through its partnership in Garmin-Asus — should finally be unveiling some Android-based phones pretty shortly in an effort to kickstart the firm’s weak showing thus far in the dog-eat-dog handset world. The VP of the mobile device business over at ASUS is talking up the joint venture’s 2010 plans this week, saying that it’ll show its first Android product at MWC next month with the hope of striking a pretty even balance between Android and WinMo shipments in the long term (no mention of the G60’s proprietary platform, interestingly). What’s more, they want to push a solid million units this year, and they’ll be looking to reach that goal by building somewhere between 4 and 5 models — at least one of which is likely destined for T-Mobile USA, as far as we can tell. Android isn’t the only thing on the docket for these guys at MWC, though: they’ll also be showing the M10, allegedly running Windows Mobile 6.5.3 with a 3.5-inch resistive display and a 5 megapixel camera with a retail price a little over $400. Finally, there are plans in the works for a TD-SCDMA phone for China Mobile that’d be available toward the tail end of the year — so all things considered, these guys might finally have a shot of making a dent in the market for once.

Garmin-Asus taking wraps off first Android gear, M10 WinMo phone at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on January 20, 2010 at 9:51 pm by Chris Ziegler · Permalink · Comments Closed
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Garmin-Asus working on an AWS smartphone, but what is it?

How many phones does Garmin-Asus sell on T-Mobile? If you guessed zero, you’d be absolutely correct, so we’re buzzing about this FCC filing that popped up in the last few hours detailing a “PDA Phone” with AWS 3G frequency compliance. To be fair, this could be a device for Canada’s WIND Mobile, too, now that it’s sharing T-Mobile’s spectrum space — but either way, we’ve got to wonder what kind of phone we’re looking at here. It seems a little late in the game to be re-releasing either the nuvifone G60 or M20 with new bands, so we’re hoping this is legitimately new hardware in the mix; if so, it’ll be interesting to see if the nuvifone franchise still has a chance to redeem itself after the G60 became one of the most catastrophically delayed launches in mobile history. Nothing a little Android can’t fix, right?

Garmin-Asus working on an AWS smartphone, but what is it? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer, Asustek working on custom 3G phones for China?

If the sources that Digitimes is reporting are correct, then China can expect to see a few more customized, 3G phones in the coming year. The sources are saying that both Acer and Asustek are planning models for 2010, and that Acer is working with China Mobile and China Unicom to produce TD-SCDMA and WCDMA models while Asustek is reportedly set to release a China-specific Garmin-Asus branded handset for both carriers in 2010 as well. Now, keep in mind of course that none of this has been confirmed by either company as of yet, but the move certainly wouldn’t surprise us, either.

Acer, Asustek working on custom 3G phones for China? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60?

The nüvifone G60 took nearly two years to go from introduction to on sale at AT&T, and just weeks after its introduction, it has been nearly completely forgotten. Smartphones like Motorola’s Droid and HTC’s Droid Eris have already snagged the spotlight, and of course, that $300 (on contract) price tag that it debuted with didn’t help attract any eyes, either. That said, we’re sure at least a few (couple?) of you bit the bullet post-price drop, and now we’re overly anxious to hear how you feel about it. After two years, does this thing really live up to the expectations? Are you satisfied with the navigation capabilities? Is the lackluster battery life worrying you yet? Should Garmin-Asus even bother with a second-gen device? Sound off in comments below!

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How would you change Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-ASUS nuvifone M20 makes jump to Windows Mobile 6.5

Two years ago, the idea of a Garmin-developed smartphone running the latest Windows Mobile operating system was enough to generate spasms of anticipation across the internets. Oh how things have changed. Today the Garmin-ASUS team has announced a Windows Mobile 6.5 update for M20 owners currently stuck at 6.1. It’s also expanding the M20 theater of pain to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech, Turkey, and other markets by the end of 2009 — note the omission of North American and Western European countries. Fine by us, we’re perfectly happy to wait for the revamped Android handset running Google’s turn-by-turn Navigator… oh, wait.

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Garmin-ASUS nuvifone M20 makes jump to Windows Mobile 6.5 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on November 11, 2009 at 2:46 am by Thomas Ricker · Permalink · Comments Closed
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