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Garmin announces the Nuviphone!
engadget.com — Garmin has just announced its new iPhone-like smartphone, the Nuviphone. The device features full browsing, PIM, phone and of course, GPS functions galore.
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- dsunshine1, on 01/31/2008, -10/+7awsome!!
- fkr3, on 01/31/2008, -6/+18Yeah... especially when gizmodo already regurgitated the press release and image gallery.
Funnily enough ***** managed to do it without even linking to the manufacturer, press release or image gallery. Whatever keeps you on engadget racking up ad impressions though right?
http://www.garmin.com/nuvifone/
http://www.garmin.com/buzz/nuvifone/media_gallery. ...
It'd be nice if digg users actually made engadget and gizmodo work for a living.... constantly regurgitating someone else's news should not be an industry.- luchid, on 01/31/2008, -7/+6Wow "*****". So clever of you. Did you come up with thtat all by yourself? Seriously, are you 12?
- streak, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1Hmmm... supposedly just a half year from availability, the Nuvifone still seems to be missing a UI and a price.
- fkr3, on 01/31/2008, -6/+18Yeah... especially when gizmodo already regurgitated the press release and image gallery.
- amromousa, on 01/31/2008, -18/+6From the WTF category.. -- it's ugly too
- CoolWind, on 01/31/2008, -3/+2The biggest mistake Jobs made was underestimating the value of including GPS navigation in the iPhone. Cell phone triangulation is very weak and won't help you when you're really lost.
- FUO213, on 01/31/2008, -20/+2yea, i think it's a flop, ugly, no way they will every sell more than like 3
- YonicSouth, on 01/31/2008, -20/+2Is there CEO from Palm? Last time I checked, Garmin's expertise was in simple, intuitive touchscreen NAVIGATION systems. Why are they leaving their core competency and trying to make a phone?! It's a flooded (competitive) market and they're probably not bringing any new technology to market, just their twist on old technology.
So basically, it's almost an iPhone on maps.google.com, except with GPS and "bitchin' Betty" telling you when to turn.- DrunkenSavior, on 01/31/2008, -0/+9Check out the Garmin 60CSx GPS. They have been making high tech GPS devices for awhile now...
- ChildeRoland420, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5"Last time I checked, Garmin's expertise was in simple, intuitive touchscreen NAVIGATION systems."
You've never checked, have you? - PleaseJustDie, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2And before the iPod, Apple's expertise was in simple, intuitive computer systems. Just because a company has done something for a while doesn't mean they can't branch out and make other good products.
- DIGGINPHYSICS, on 01/31/2008, -22/+5It'll never beat the iPhone
- Cockslap, on 01/31/2008, -2/+4If it does GPS, its already won in my book. If its 3G capable then ***** the iphone.
- luchid, on 01/31/2008, -5/+2You do know that in order totake advantage o 3G speeds you'll need a browser on par with the rendering speed. And that's one thing it probably won't be good at. After all what experience does Garmin have on these sort of devices?
- CoolWind, on 01/31/2008, -2/+3It's not their first handheld, and it's not their first PDA like device, so yeah, they have a lot of experience. But thanks for speculating.
- luchid, on 01/31/2008, -5/+2You do know that in order totake advantage o 3G speeds you'll need a browser on par with the rendering speed. And that's one thing it probably won't be good at. After all what experience does Garmin have on these sort of devices?
- Cockslap, on 01/31/2008, -2/+4If it does GPS, its already won in my book. If its 3G capable then ***** the iphone.
- streetstealth, on 01/31/2008, -7/+17"People don't just walk in to this business" said Palm's CEO infamously about the iPhone back in '06.
Apple brought to the table bajillions of dollars of engineering with some of the world's top industrial and UI designers, and managed to actually "just walk in."
You get those shoes on sale, Garmin?- IllBeBack, on 01/31/2008, -2/+8Garmin has the king-sized balls to be able to walk into that business also.
- bigsteve, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1And trip on those balls and fall flat on their face. Apple has in their corner some of the world's brightest interface engineers, a stable, very scalable UNIX kernel, years of usability research, an API kit growing in size, documentation and usability, IMHO the hands-down best mobile web experience, and that's all before the whole iTunes and music/movies thing coming together for them.
Ever use a Garmin device? I think I'd rather be lost.- sonofagunn, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Ever use a Garmin NUVI? Easiest personal navigator that I've seen. Way better than the TomTom or my marine Lowrance.
- bigsteve, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1And trip on those balls and fall flat on their face. Apple has in their corner some of the world's brightest interface engineers, a stable, very scalable UNIX kernel, years of usability research, an API kit growing in size, documentation and usability, IMHO the hands-down best mobile web experience, and that's all before the whole iTunes and music/movies thing coming together for them.
- OriginalLucid1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3All true. And the death knell for Palm keeps growing
- IllBeBack, on 01/31/2008, -2/+8Garmin has the king-sized balls to be able to walk into that business also.
- shempey, on 01/31/2008, -4/+15maybe we should wait for details like price/release date/on-board storage/codec support etc. before we start crying "omg wtf never beat iphone evar"? No? Personally on-board GPS is a pretty attractive feature if (big if) they manage to get everything else right.
- MacParrot, on 01/31/2008, -3/+2Having a real GPS system would make it more useful than the iPhone for me as long as you don't have to pay for the service by the minute or something similar. Hopefully Garmin will make the interface a little better than the average GPS unit too.
- Refrag, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Nah, this isn't an iPhone clone. It looks much more like a Newton.
- doshindude, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2the LG voyager has onboard GPS also....it's not a selling feature and doesn't make the unit more popular.
- shempey, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0The voyager doesn't have GPS any more than any other verizon phone has GPS. It has "VZ Navigator" which uses triangulation, similar to what the new iphone software upgrade does. This phone has legitmate GPS, which is significantly cooler and (hopefully) you won't have to pay verizon or any other provider a monthly fee to use.
- Melio, on 01/31/2008, -4/+37garmin devices are high end, they're intended for serious adventure types, people who don't just take walks around the mall. Garmin is found on the most expensive vehicles on earth - Like cruise ships and it's integrated into computers to guide aircraft too.
GPS is GPS, but garmin has been studying how to make it work properly since conception. - this cell phone stuff is easy, the GPS function of a garmin is what people will be buying this phone for. NOT the cheesy crap you pay for with Sprint ect..- utahnkid, on 01/31/2008, -4/+3You know I thought the exact same thing when I recently bought a Kenwood double din head unit with integrated flash memory based navigation by Garmin. I figured it was a perfect match because the two systems are totally independent of each other and could do what they do best. Kenwood, a company that knows how to make a head unit, handled all the regular stuff but when you go into navi mode its all Garmin, a company that knows navigation. Sadly this wasn't so... by far the WORST part of the system is the Garmin navigation. Its slow to react, doesn't track you very well, you have to pay for updates ($100 per year), and the graphics are very cartoony. Keep in mind this is THE MOST expensive Kenwood double din you can buy... If I were shopping for a stand alone navi unit I wouldn't even look at Garmin. I agree they make great military/hunting/outdoorsy oriented devices but as far as personal road oriented use.. Give me a TomTom
- CoolWind, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5Garmins are far better than TomTom at choosing the best route. Garmins also have the best POI database by far.
- Pittance, on 01/31/2008, -3/+1Its too bad that normal GPS is fairly useless inside a city. "Oh wait, that skyscraper blocked my sat-signal. I have to wait a few minutes, parked by the curb, to pick it back up." They better be using AGPS with their phones (GPS + cell-phone tower locational technology) or itll be worthless off the highway.
Oh and Sprint does suck, but for different reasons. If you ever buy a phone that doesn't use a SIM card, you've made a mistake.- mrsteve007, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3With old GPS units, yes, but most of the newer medium and higher end garmin units perform extremely well in urban environments, along with canyons and densely forested areas. I have the 60CSx, and am extremely impressed with sat locate and signal quality. It works inside the center, 1st floor of my 2 story office building.
- TheUngod, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1You must have a crap unit. I use my Garmin in Boston all the time and it works flawlessly.
- utahnkid, on 01/31/2008, -4/+3You know I thought the exact same thing when I recently bought a Kenwood double din head unit with integrated flash memory based navigation by Garmin. I figured it was a perfect match because the two systems are totally independent of each other and could do what they do best. Kenwood, a company that knows how to make a head unit, handled all the regular stuff but when you go into navi mode its all Garmin, a company that knows navigation. Sadly this wasn't so... by far the WORST part of the system is the Garmin navigation. Its slow to react, doesn't track you very well, you have to pay for updates ($100 per year), and the graphics are very cartoony. Keep in mind this is THE MOST expensive Kenwood double din you can buy... If I were shopping for a stand alone navi unit I wouldn't even look at Garmin. I agree they make great military/hunting/outdoorsy oriented devices but as far as personal road oriented use.. Give me a TomTom
- morningmatters, on 01/31/2008, -5/+2The idea probably sounds stupid to many, but there maybe a market for this kind of technology, along the lines of taxi drivers or delivery truck drivers. Though, I am pretty sure that GPS will be standard for most new cars in a couple of years so Garmin cannot expect this phone to succeed based on GPS alone on the long term.
- bignerd, on 01/31/2008, -8/+2Just buy an at&t Tilt (HTC Kaiser) and install tomtom mobile! Problem solved!
- christophocles, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1damn right that phone is s1ck
- snuffulupagus, on 01/31/2008, -3/+7That sounds too much like NuvaRing for my taste.
- signal15, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4I don't like the way those taste either.
- newbill123, on 01/31/2008, -2/+5Well, Nuv + iPhone is a pretty ballsy name for a competing product.
- pwnerofnoobs, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Its Nuvi + phone. Garmen has a line of GPS units called Nuvi's.
- counterplex, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Maybe you need to pwn a few more noobs to see newbill123 was putting a creative twist on the name ;)
- pwnerofnoobs, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Its Nuvi + phone. Garmen has a line of GPS units called Nuvi's.
- UltramegaOK, on 01/31/2008, -10/+3Yes, but will it blend?
- zulfy26, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Obligatory
- feshmania, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Overdone
- Roksix, on 01/31/2008, -6/+5I think I found my next phone.
- IllBeBack, on 01/31/2008, -4/+2Mmmmmmmm, sexy...
- twiztidsinz, on 01/31/2008, -5/+4YAY Duplicate stories on the front page!
- idc5, on 01/31/2008, -8/+14I'd buy this over the Iphone anyday
- BeeArePro, on 01/31/2008, -4/+5Kim Arnold is a whore.
- Mothh, on 01/31/2008, -4/+0I thought it was weird that they used that name, since Arnold Kim is the guy who runs macrumors.com.
- bambala, on 01/31/2008, -9/+4Looks like crap
- skoobisnaxs, on 01/31/2008, -2/+5I have a nuvi 350 and I always thought the menu was spectacular but I never thought about a phone idea... kinda cool but it looks like the fugly Garmin Palm thing they tried to do a few years back.
- utahnkid, on 01/31/2008, -6/+17If you're gonna borrow the design of a device you better make sure you bring over the best features. That screen needs to be glass and totally flush.. I can't tell you how nice it is to have a phone with no ridges or anything else to attract gunk.. I have a Treo 755p as well and you need a freakin qtip to clean the corners of the screen.. The entire cleaning procedure for an iPhone involves wiping it across your jeans.
And all you fussy fellow iPhone owners... CHILL OUT. Competition is GOOD.. Keep repeating that to yourself.. The ONLY thing to come from competition is lower prices and better performance.. If the iPhone is left without a legitimate contender Apple will get lazy.. Remember what they say.. Necessity is the mother of invention. - hobbitsareneat, on 01/31/2008, -5/+1Er.. who cares? My phone can make and recieve calls. So there.
- andyfang, on 01/31/2008, -7/+0hoho!!!~~~~
http://www.beijingso.com - poisonborz, on 01/31/2008, -3/+9Engineer: Sir, we finally created a navigation set with included phone functions!
Company Exec: A Navigation unit...and a phone... ITS A NUVIPHONE!
Engineer: *Sigh* - evangelion01, on 01/31/2008, -6/+4looks so.... 1996?
- supahbaaad, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2i can't keep up- -i don't work yet. waiiitttttttttt!
- daxsymbiont, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1wouldn't it be cool if it was called the nuviphonet?
it has such a retro scientific ring to it.
nuviphonet. - crash331, on 01/31/2008, -3/+2**Looks down about 9 stories.....
::sigh:: - trendy59, on 01/31/2008, -5/+0not impressive....just wait till the i phone rolls out with the Tomtom application. It'll have tele atlas maps which are whole lot better in my opinion
- trendy59, on 02/04/2008, -0/+0actually heard it was just a rumor.....still stand by my claim that this Garmin phone is not impressive. even the PSP application with tele atlas maps is more impressive. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcMtlEFCZSo
- xenon221, on 01/31/2008, -7/+1Pure vaporware.
- Nougat, on 01/31/2008, -5/+2Wait a minute ... someone remind me what these things do (Garmin, iPhone, all of them) that Windows smartphones haven't already been doing for two years?
- weeeezzll, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Make it easy, seamless and obvious...?
;) - luchid, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Have a decent browser, not be completely frustrating to use, don't crash 300 times a day, don't require to close apps before you run out of memory?
- OriginalLucid1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2That about sums it up. Nice job fellows.
- weeeezzll, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Make it easy, seamless and obvious...?
- niravd, on 01/31/2008, -3/+2One more reason to buy Garmin. Check more reasons at http://dividendpirate.com/2008/01/09/garmin/
- Rapax, on 01/31/2008, -4/+1Keyboards guys. We need keyboards, with physical keys that give tactile response when you push them. Touchscreens are a neat gimmick, but they're no replacement for actual keys.
- customer, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I would of agreed with you last year, I was a huge Blackberry user. Now that I am used to my iPhone, I don't miss the keyboard at all. I type just as fast on the touchscreen as I did the keypad, just took some time.
- shadowspawn, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2My LG (clamshell flip with a qwerty keyboard has a decent GPS. Only with VZW towers, but it works pretty much everywhere.
- customer, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1I really love my iPhone but this looks pretty slick. I can't wait to see it in person.
- edelweys, on 01/31/2008, -3/+0Time to buy Garmin stock...
- andreo, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1this gadget seems to cover all the bases. It perfect for business people that travel. It's perfect for just regular travelers also. And if anything it keeps you from having to worry about leaving your GPS in the car to be stolen since you wouldn't necessarily leave your phone in the car.
- Dipster, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2All I need something like this to do now is to be able to have it tell me where I lost it. :)
- TechyLah, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1It's perfectly reasonable to be able to call up this thing and have it spit back in voice its precise GPS coordinates.
It should come with a Google Maps plugin that shows you exactly where in your house you left the darn thing using the satellite's most zoomed available image. Dipster, if they haven't already thought of this, your post should clinch it! Sorry, no royalties for you. That's how the game works. Thanks, though!
- TechyLah, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1It's perfectly reasonable to be able to call up this thing and have it spit back in voice its precise GPS coordinates.
- TechyLah, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2My two favorite devices - my iPod touch and Garmin nuvi 650.
THE questions:
Will the nuviPhone touch interface have anywhere near the finesse of the iTouch system? GPS touch interaction is much less demanding than browsing. Apple bought a whole company for this.
What phone carriers, AT&T only? LOL Heck, no. Verizon? What about data? Will I be able to run webapps anywhere my cellphone coverage reaches or is this just a cellphone with a local Wifi only (like the iPod touch glued to a standard cellphone).
The big win would be (and a scoop of Google) if the voice part of this phone were VoIP only!! - OriginalLucid1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2This is what Palm should have been working on, instead of puking out Treo clones.
- DCGaymer, on 01/31/2008, -4/+2I refuse to ever buy an iPhone.....I'm waiting for Android.
- LeapFrog, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1It didn't take long for someone to set up the domain "nuviphone.net"
http://www.nuviphone.net/ - doshindude, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1it pretty much does everything the LG Voyager does....it'll all come down to whether it handles it better or not.
- GreenGrassyNoel, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1nuv-iphone?
- darkheartlor, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1The way these mobile devices are heading is just awesome. I can't wait to see what we are going to call a phone in just a couple years from now. I passed on the iPhone, because it was missing some key features that I needed. This is a step towards filling those needs.
- griz, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2Like how they snuck iphone into the name?
- funkytaco, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1I really hope the move away from primary colours for the interface buttons. Ergh.
- justusbruns, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0iPhone should adopt some functions like these too, after all, the buttons on screen look quiet familiar
- supermanred, on 02/01/2008, -1/+1It looks pretty cool, but looks like it's the same size as 6 iphones duck taped together.
They could've been a bit more original than calling it the NUV iPhone nuviphone... lol - hbueain, on 02/04/2008, -1/+0no multitouch? saw this kid with voyager trying to scroll in the browser with the super tinny bar on the side. no actual key is hard enough.
ppl that travels alot in car might buy this I guess
business ppl stick with blackberry, and for high end consumers c'mon we want sexy looking phones not some crazy high tech army looking.. GPS. and I have navigation in my car, people that spends 400 bucks on phones and pay 20 extra a month don't drive around in a 1990 toyota camry, in most case. - magicjamers, on 02/10/2008, -0/+1Here is a similar gadget...Gmail toolbox:60 + gmail tools and resources
http://digg.com/gadgets/Gmail_Toolbox_60_Gmail_Too ...
http://digg.com/gadgets/Gmail_Toolbox_60_Gmail_Too ...
http://digg.com/gadgets/Gmail_Toolbox_60_Gmail_Too ...
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http://digg.com/gadgets/Gmail_Toolbox_60_Gmail_Too ...
http://digg.com/gadgets/Gmail_Toolbox_60_Gmail_Too ...
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http://digg.com/gadgets/Gmail_Toolbox_60_Gmail_Too ... -
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