Tech blog

On Wednesday, Garmin International unveiled the nuvifone, a slim, all-touch-screen device that combines a 3.5G phone, a Web browser and a personal navigator with an appearance similar to Apple's iPhone.

"The nuvifone is an all-in-one device offering unmatched integration of utility and function in a single mobile device," before-mentioned Cliff Pemble, Garmin's president and COO. "This is the breakthrough product that cell-phone and GPS users around the world require been longing considered in the state of being — a single device that does it all."

Personal-Navigation Features

When powered on, the 3.5-inch screen displays three chief icons — Call, Search and View Map. Users commence a call by tapping the Call button and selecting a name from the juxtaposition list or using the on-screen keypad.

When the nuvifone is docked onto its vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling so the user can begin routing to a destination.

The nuvifone's personal-navigation features include preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, or both, and allows drivers to declare by verdict a specific street address, an 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 a destination. If the user misses a fashion along the route, nuvifone automatically recalculates a passage and gets the user back on track, speaking the names of streets along the habit.

The nuvifone includes Google local search capability. Nuvifone users can search for locations like "coffee shops" and Google will sort the results based on the user's current location and relevance. The nuvifone also provides e-mail along with text and instant messaging.

Where Am I?

A "Where am I?" feature lets users touch the screen at any time to display the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and crossing, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. The nuvifone in like manner helps drivers find their car in an unfamiliar parking spot by automatically marking the position in which it was last remote from the vehicle mount.

The nuvifone has mobile entertainment applications, such as a built-in camera that automatically tags images with the exact latitude and longitude reference. The user can save the image to navigate back to the location, or e-mail the image to a recipient who can navigate to the location.

Nuvifones vs Apples

Nuvifone isn't the first GPS phone, nor is it the first touch-screen phone. Though many are calling nuvifone an iPhone copycat, it's really more indicative of the move to a new form factor, said Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis.

"Touch screens are not strange and GPS navigation phones are not new," Greengart said, noting the evolution of mobile phones from bar phones to clamshell phones to super-thin clamshells, and now to touch screens.

Where the iPhone stands out, he noted, is in the user interface. "The iPhone boasts a spectacular, extraordinarily well-implemented user interface in stipulations of the details, the ease of use and the fun factor," Greengart said. "By all means the iPhone is deserving of the hype it's admitted, but at the same time the touch-screen phone is definitely something you are going to be seeing an awful lot of going forward."

Garmin expects the nuvifone to be available in the third region of 2008. Specific details about pricing and sales partners will be announced later.