The GPS maker Garmin International decided that it’s time to
conquer the mobile phone market with a new touchscreen phone.
The new gadget, called nuvifone, is not just a phone but it
includes also a mobile web browser and a personal navigator.
All these three functions are available with a simple touch,
because when the phone starts it displays three buttons "Call,"
"Search," and "View Map"
Nuvifone 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.
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. Nuvifone will offer to its
future users access to Google Local search
Garmin said that when the nuvifone is docked onto the
vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation
menu, and enables hands-free calling
The nuvifone also includes personal messaging functions,
including email, text, and instant messaging.
As any respectable phone, Garmin’s ultimate device includes a
built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC and access Garmin Online, 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.
According to the company, the phone is set to be released in
the third quarter of this year, but its price is still to be announced.
Earlier this month, the company unveiled Garmin nuvi 880, a new
navigation device features speech recognition capabilities, dynamic MSN Direct
content, Bluetooth wireless technology and others.
The most notable special trick that Garmin nuvi 880 provides
users with is the speech recognition feature. Users will have to simply say
“find nearest restaurant”, if they are hungry, and they will be offered a list
of nearby restaurants. nuvi 880 also “knows” the names of the most important
business brands, such as Starbucks, for example.
It remains to be seen if nuvifone will be a nuvi 880 plus a
phone capability, or a totally new device.
