Garmin, better known for their GPS devices, has announced its entry into the mobile phone business. Their first offering will be the nüvifone, an all-in-one, sleek and slim, touchscreen device that combines a premium phone, mobile web-browser, and cutting-edge personal navigator. It looks like a cross between one of Garmin’s traditional GPS devices and an iPhone with a screen that takes up most of the front and few buttons.
Details revealed so far indicate that it will come with a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, 3.5G connectivity (specific bands not disclosed), built-in GPS and a digital camera. It will run on Garmin’s own operating system. On the software side, it will have a web browser, email and IM clients, Google local search, a media player and preloaded maps of North America or Eastern and Western Europe, or both (suggesting regional versions of the device).
The Garmin nüvifone should be available in the third quarter of 2008. Pricing information was not announced.