Garmin-Asus has announced the nüvifone A50 which is powered by Android. Hopefully this one will appear a lot quicker than previous efforts.
“Garmin-Asus, a co-branded alliance between Garmin® Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), and ASUSTeK® Computer Inc. (TAIEX: 2357), today announced the Garmin-Asus nüvifone A50, a touchscreen Android-powered smartphone with multiple location technologies and apps. The A50 benefits from the personalization and enhanced features offered by the Android platform, and also includes Garmin navigation with turn-by-turn, voice prompted directions for use in a car or while walking. Location features are designed into virtually every function including email, text messaging, and photos. The A50 will be on display at the Garmin-Asus booth (Hall 8, #8B127) at Mobile World Congress, February 15-18, 2010.
“The A50 integrates navigation and GPS functionality throughout the device, which gives customers the versatility and reliability they need as they navigate their day.”
“The A50 brings premium navigation features to the Android operating system, offering users a seamless location based experience along with access to the wealth of applications that the platform affords,” said Benson Lin, vice president and general manager of ASUS’ personal mobile devices business unit, handheld business group.
“Location is relevant to everything you do,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and COO.
The elegant and thin A50 has a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display that incorporates a finger-friendly user interface. The QWERTY touchscreen keyboard makes it easy to send and receive messages, and predictive text helps customers type faster. It also comes with hardware features like 4GB internal storage, an expandable microSD card slot, and accelerometer so every screen can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode.”
Also announced is the nüvifone M10 powered by Windows Mobile 6.5.3- “The Garmin-Asus M10 runs the latest version of Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile 6.5.3 features upgrades that enhance user experience and provides access to Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which offers a vast number of Windows phone applications for download.
“Windows phones move seamlessly from work to play, creating new experiences through a variety of hardware, applications and services,” said Andy Lees, senior vice president of Mobile Communication Business at Microsoft. “We are pleased to work closely with Garmin-Asus to bring to market Windows phones based on the latest version of Windows phone today and look forward to our work bringing more Windows phones to market in the future.”
The M10 has a sleek design with a 3.5-inch WVGA display and a finger-friendly user interface. The Billboard feature displays the most important information so users can review all at one glance. An intuitive 3D Task Manager also allows users to switch easily between running applications. Keeping the phone responsive and the navigation smooth are 512 RAM and 512 ROM, while 4GB of Flash memory provides ample storage for multimedia and data.
The M10 is equipped with a 1500 mAh battery for hours of uninterrupted use, as well as a full QWERTY soft keyboard for speedy text input. HSDPA wireless connectivity and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) ensure that messages are sent and received quickly. In addition, the M10 can be synched to Microsoft Exchange® so that contacts, calendars and emails are always available and secure.”
