Gizm0 - Gadget Blog for the Technology Obsessed.

Garmin, a company known for their GPS receivers, is entering the the phone market, and in a big way. The Garmin Nuvifone is made for the iPhone age, except that shows up to the party wearing a few things the iPhone can only dream of, like true GPS navigation, (of course), 3G, ability to geo-tag photos, MMS and instant messenging and a built in video camera!

Available in Q3, the interface is also a surprise. It’s the same interface as used on the TomTom. With big icons and an easy to navigate user-interface, Garmin’s Nuvifone isn’t really meant to be an iPhone killer, just the next level of portable GPS - but its hard to deny that the two worlds are coming closer and closer together.

See it for yourself at 3GSM in Barcelona, February 11th-14th.

What follows is Garmin’s own press release on the Nuvifone - read only if you’re very interested or very geeky:

“The nuvifone is an all-in-one device offering unmatched integration of utility and function in a single mobile device,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and COO. “This is the breakthrough product that cell phone and GPS users around the world have been longing for — a single device that does it all.”

The nuvifone is an innovative mobile phone that has a wide range of advanced yet easy-to-use features. The all touchscreen device is the first of its kind to integrate premium 3.5G mobile phone capability with an internet browser, data connectivity, personal messaging, and personal navigation functions in one device. When powered on, the 3.5-inch touchscreen display reveals three primary icons — “Call,” “Search,” and “View Map” which allow the user to effortlessly master the nüvifone’s functions.

The nuvifone is the ultimate multi-tasker. Calls are easily initiated by tapping the “Call” button and selecting a name from the contact list or by using the on-screen keypad. When the user is trying to juggle talking on their phone while entering their vehicle to start a trip, the nuvifone makes the transition simple. When the nuvifone is docked onto the vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling so that the user never misses a beat in the conversation and is able to begin routing to their destination with ease.

Customers familiar with Garmin’s industry leading nuvi(R) product line will feel right at home using the nuvifone’s personal navigation features. It includes preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, or both, and allows drivers to quickly find a specific street address, establishment’s name or search for a destination by category using the nuvifone’s built-in database with millions of points of interest. Turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions guide the user to their destination. If they miss a turn along the route, nuvifone automatically recalculates a route and gets them back on track, speaking the names of the streets along the way.

The nuvifone is Garmin’s first device to include Google local search capability, which harnesses the vast point of interest information available from the world wide web. Nuvifone users can search for locations like “coffee shops” and Google will sort the results based on the user’s current location and relevance. Information provided by Google includes a web-based rating so that users can select the most appropriate destination and route directly to it. In addition, the nuvifone includes a web browser incorporating premium features and touchscreen operation for an optimum mobile browsing experience. The nuvifone also includes personal messaging functions, including email, text, and instant messaging.

For the ultimate in safety, the “Where am I?” feature lets users touch the screen at any time to display the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. The nuvifone also helps drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or crowded parking lot by automatically marking the position in which it was last removed from the vehicle mount.

In addition to navigation, the nuvifone includes access to Garmin Online(TM), an online service offering constantly-updating information such as real-time traffic, fuel prices, stock prices, sport scores, news reports, local events and weather forecasts.

The nuvifone also includes numerous mobile entertainment applications. The built-in camera allows individuals to take a picture that will automatically be tagged with the exact latitude and longitude reference of where the image was taken. The user may then save the image so they can navigate back to the location, or email the image to a recipient who can navigate directly to the location. The nuvifone also provides direct access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing photographs available through Google’s Panoramio picture sharing site. The Panoramio photo search feature enhances the enjoyment and adventure of sightseeing in an otherwise unfamiliar location. Other multimedia functions of the nuvifone include a built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC.

Garmin anticipates that the nuvifone will be available in the third quarter of 2008. Specific details about pricing and sales partners will be announced in the future. Additional information about nuvifone is available at http://www.garmin.com/nuvifone.

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Garmin unleased a plethora of Nuvis for CES.  The most feature rich may be this Nuvi 850, which sports a ton of features, an appropriately lofty $800 pricetag but no Bluetooth!

It does however make up for that wireless support by providing 4.3 inch 480×272 resolution touchscreen, rechargeable Li-on battery, speech recognitition, 3D map-view, micro-SD slot, FM transmitter, and built-in media player. You can cop this in Q2 ‘08 but for $800, we’re kinda missing that Bluetooth. Sorry guys.

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Peep this out cousin, that whip ain’t just a whip, its more like your personal Man Den but on wheels.  That means you can’t be content to listen to bad stock DJs on ghetto stock stereo systems.  You need the real dealz.  Well if your hearin’ me, this is what you’ll want:

Flir Pathfinder, $4,100

This thing will do your laundry and hook up your wife if you’re not feeling up to it.

Maestro Elite 5340 GPS by Magellan

This is a top of the line Magellan for about a grand.  Cop it if you feel like you need the best in GPS.

Garmin Nuvi 880, $1,000

You know Garmin can do GPS, but did you know it can talk to you now too?  You can also set it up with your mobile phone, etc.  Basically if you want to burn a $G instead of $200, cop this.

Sirius Backseat TV

Keep your ADD kids fixated for hours while you try to figure out how to get out of the Bronx Expressway.

Atlas CPC 1200

Confuse the hell out of your car passengers so they won’t dare touch your music.

Sync, a Ford/Microsoft callabo that’s actually pretty impressive.  You spit game at it, and it listens to you!  Like this “play ‘Throw Some Dee’s on It’.   Now Play ‘Tiffany’.”

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If your Garmin or TomTom doesn’t make your driving life sexy enough, along comes 3D GPS Navigation/Mapping system by obscure Nav N Go. Sporting their own graphic engine, Nav N Go will be the dedicated software manufacturer and will probably license this technology to the TomToms and Garmins of the world.

The question is, is it worth it? A few articles bemoan 3D GPS as “gimmicky” but we think its kind of sweet, so long as they don’t add too much to the price. Who doesn’t to have one eye on the road and the other on “Vice City - Brooklyn”? The pic is is obviously from much more natural and French speaking environs.

Related Recommend Products:

Garmin nüvi 200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

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