Garmin and ASUSTeK announced today a new partnership that will see the two companies offer co-branded location-centric mobile phones. As part of the announcement, the two companies promised to offer several Garmin-Asus nüvifone models in 2009, including a new model to be announced at the Mobile World Congress.
LBS functionality is 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. The nüvifone harnesses the power of the worldwide web and information about local merchants and attractions is continually updated. The nüvifone also features Ciao!, a social networking application that bridges the gap between multiple location based social networks and integrates them seamlessly into one device.
The original Garmin nüvifone will be rebranded as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60. It will be released in the first half of the year.
The roots of this new partnership go back over a year when Garmin chose ASUSTeK to be the ODM for what is now the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60.