It is already common knowledge that the Garmin nuviphone is being manufactured by ASUS. But I had no idea that the partnership ran so deep. Today the two companies announced an alliance that will result in an entire line of Garmin-ASUS nuvifones.
The original Garmin nuviphone, slated to be released in the first half of 2009, will be re-branded the Garmin-ASUS nuvifone G60 and we should find out an actual release date at the Mobile World Congress in mid-February. Also at MWC, the two companies will roll out a second nuviphone, and expect to have several available on the market by the end of 2009.
The Garmin-ASUS nuviphone series will offer features similar to those on high-end Garmin portable navigation devices. Those include turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions, preloaded maps, millions of points of interest, internet-enabled local search, and Ciao!, a social networking application that integrates all of your online social networks into the nuviphone.
Garmin and ASUS are both members of the Google Android-supporting Open Handset Alliance, and while the nuviphone G60 isn’t expected to run the Android operating system, I’m betting the newly announced nuviphone will.
There’s more pictures after the cut.
via garminasus
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