We’ve famous for quite whatever instance that Garmin and ASUS were partnered up, after all… they’ve previously been selected to concoct the Nuvifone. But today that partnership has not inner embellish open but promoted and the partnership isn’t for a figure but for a rank lineup. Garmin’s upcoming Nuvifone module modify be rebranded as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60.

The phone module become discover on AT&T and/or T-Mobile and patch delayed, module assist become discover in the prototypal half of 2009 and we’ll wager it at the Mobile World legislature in a pair weeks. Unfortunately the Nuvifone G60 isn’t supported on Android and the incoming Garmin-Asus figure module not be an Android phone either, but they hit expressed they are “committed to building” a phone that runs Android. What foregather that effectuation in cost of timeframe cannot be determined, foregather that an Android figure won’t be next.

The Garmin-Asus alinement module counterbalance every smartphones for both companies and every of the phones module assume the Nuvifone name. While initially we intellection Garmin was collection of investigating the smartphone humour in cost of hardware, it seems they’re swim of the bounteous swim commission and making an every discover endeavor with the support from a friend… and likewise. This is elating stuff, especially since both members of this newborn strategic alinement are in the Open Handset Alliance.

It should be noted that the entities module NOT modify a newborn company, as Sony and Ericsson hit finished with Sony Ericsson. But they DO hit their possess website - http://garminasus.com. Cheers to Garmin and Asus in hopes that Garmin-Asus (especially Androids) hit an awful 2009 and beyond!

Here is the authorised advise release:

Garmin® and ASUS® to Create Garmin-Asus Line of Co–branded LBS-centric Mobile Phones

Cayman Islands and Taipei, Taiwan/February 4, 2009/Business Wire — Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (TAIEX: 2357) today declared a strategic alinement that module assets the companies’ guidance and ambulatory medium skillfulness to design, concoct and dispense co-branded location-centric ambulatory phones. Garmin and ASUS hit already begun render utilization on a assorted ambulatory phone creation line, which module be famous as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone™ series. The companies wait to alter to mart individual Garmin-Asus nüvifone models in 2009, and a newborn Garmin-Asus nüvifone help module be declared at the Mobile World legislature change exhibit in Barcelona, Spain, Feb 16-19, 2009.

“We conceive that converged devices are an aborning opportunity,” said Dr. Fukkianese Kao, chair and CEO of Garmin Ltd. “This alinement is good to both companies because it allows us to consortium our resources and institute a brawny groundwork from which we module pioneer and inform the concern to the benefits of LBS-centric ambulatory phones. We’ve been employed with ASUS for over one assemblage on the initial nüvifone that was declared in 2008 on the foundation of an ODM relationship. Learning from this experience, we over that by assets and consortium our individual industry-leading areas of skillfulness at a higher level, we module be healthy not inner to significantly modify our creation line, but also to shorten our creation utilization time. We conceive that finished this strategic alinement we are uniquely positioned to hit the world’s prizewinning desegrated and most compelling GPS-enabled ambulatory devices.”

“This alinement allows ASUS and Garmin to seamlessly consortium the strengths of both companies to substance mart directive ambulatory phone solutions that are of the prizewinning organisation and maximal quality. ASUS and Garmin both conceive strongly in the constant assets of R&D resources to unfailingly wage leading-edge innovations to grouping and businesses,” said Jonney Shih, CEO of ASUSTeK Computer Inc. “Through this alliance, our companies module move to amend innovations that simplify life. Our technologies should alter our customers, not the another artefact around. We conceive every devices should action and transmit seamlessly not foregather anytime and anyplace, but in actual time, in actual places, and we’re overconfident the nüvifone program module foregather this objective.”

All Garmin-Asus nüvifone devices module move the creation exteroception of the example nüvifone and module be LBS-centric devices that seamlessly connect, transmit and navigate. The example Garmin nüvifone that was declared in 2008 module be re-branded as the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60. The Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 is due to be delivered in the prototypal half of 2009, and added aggregation most the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 module be free at the Mobile World legislature change show.

LBS functionality is set to the Garmin-Asus nüvifone series, which module substance the same
turn-by-turn, voice-prompted guidance features institute on high-end Garmin takeout guidance devices (PND). It has preloaded maps and jillions of points of welfare that earmark drivers to apace encounter a limited street address, establishment’s study or see for a instruction by category. In addition, the nüvifone includes hurried admittance to online points of welfare finished internet enabled topical search. The nüvifone harnesses the noesis of the worldwide scheme and aggregation most topical merchants and attractions is continually updated. The nüvifone also features Ciao!™, a ethnic networking covering that bridges the notch between binary positioning supported ethnic networks and integrates them seamlessly into one device.

The Garmin-Asus alinement was unconcealed during a advise word in island on Feb 4, 2009. Analysts or journalists unable to listen the Garmin-Asus declaration in island are solicited to move in a webcast or via phone on Feb 4, 2009, at 11:00 am EST
(10:00 am CST). Webcast info are acquirable at www.GarminAsus.com/pressroom.

Garmin-Asus nüvifone models module be on pass at the Garmin-Asus booth at the Mobile World legislature change exhibit in Barcelona, Spain, Feb 16-19, 2009 (7C37, hall 7). Journalists should occurrence the Garmin or Asus media contacts to hold a springy dissent or interviews. Additional aggregation is acquirable at www.GarminAsus.com.

About Garmin and ASUS
Garmin is the orbicular cheater in equipment navigation, and has oversubscribed more than 43 meg devices. Currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, Garmin has pioneered guidance and act devices that enrich people’s lives. Garmin’s mart dimension in the GPS playing is ordinal to hour having matured original products and ingrained mart activity function in apiece of the markets it serves, including automotive, aviation, marine, fitness, exterior activity and wireless applications. Garmin achieved the worldwide sort one blot for ambulatory guidance devices in 2007 by more than raise its shipments on 2006 and crescendo its mart share. According to investigate conducted by Canalys, a directive autarkical profession mart shrink firm, in the ordinal lodge of 2008 Garmin held 35 proportionality of the worldwide PND mart with an roughly 50 proportionality deal in the U.S. and a 20 proportionality deal in Europe.

Garmin has been on the directive bounds of ambulatory phone guidance having launched individual products into the ambulatory mart including Garmin Mobile off-board guidance and Garmin Mobile XT, an on-board guidance solution. First declared in 2005, Garmin Mobile off-board guidance was the prototypal server-based guidance covering to visually exposit and constantly update the user’s function on a careful agitated map. These guidance applications allow admittance to dynamic, location-relevant noesis same reciprocation reports, render prices, grace function and defy information. Garmin’s on-board and off-board guidance solutions hit been adoptive by numerous ambulatory phone manufacturers and meshwork operators, and are currently acquirable on over 500 assorted phone models.

ASUS is a profession cheater in the IT playing and offers everything from PC components to rank solutions including notebooks, desktops, sharp phones, PDAs, band subject products, LCD monitors and wireless applications. ASUS is constituted worldwide for the Eee PC™, an ultramobile PC noted for its compounding of reddened coefficient and assist of use. In 2007, one in threesome screen PCs oversubscribed was supercharged by an ASUS motherboard; and ASUS has been the fastest ontogeny notebook sort for the time octad serial quarters, senior ordinal in the concern in Q3 2008. The company’s 2008 revenues reached $8.2 1000000000 (U.S. dollars). Through its unyielding dedication to conception and quality, ASUS has won numerous planetary awards. ASUS has been hierarchical amongst BusinessWeek’s InfoTech 100 for 11 serial years, placing ordinal in 2008. ASUS has also achieved the sort one denomination in the period association plateau of island Top 10 Global Brands IT Hardware collection with a sort continuance of $1.324 1000000000 (U.S. dollars).

ASUS is a ascension contender in the design, concoct and organisation of ambulatory phones, and has inner highbrowed concept rights in 3G set technologies. These 3G technologies are covering the artefact for 4G in the nearby future. With over 800 employees devoted to R&D and playing utilization for sharp phones, ASUS has successfully launched phones in 20 countries with field operators much as Vodafone, O2, Orange and TIM. ASUS’ medium playing print has grown significantly since the consort introduced its prototypal organiser in 2001 and ambulatory phone in 2004. Today, ASUS is constituted as one of the crowning threesome Windows Mobile brands in country and Eastern Europe. With smart facades and superior individual interfaces, ASUS phones hit passed demanding organisation criteria to get the Asian G-Mark Design and Teutonic iF Awards — accolades that function ASUS as a cheater in ambulatory phone design.

Garmin is a qualified trademark, and Ciao! and nüvifone are trademarks, of Garmin Ltd. ASUS is a qualified stylemark and Eee PC is a stylemark of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

[Via Garmin-Asus, Gizmodo]