Garmin and ASUS Introduce Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 Mobile Phone
It has been about a year since
Garmin announced its nüvifone, but the device was never released. Now ASUSTeK Computer Inc. has teamed-up with Garmin in a strategic alliance to design, manufacture and
distribute co-branded location-centric nuvifone series mobile phones, starting with the new Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60, which is expected to ship in the first
half of 2009.
“We believe that converged devices are an emerging opportunity,” said Dr. Min Kao, chairman and CEO of Garmin Ltd. “This alliance is advantageous to both companies because it allows us to combine our resources and establish a strong foundation from which we will innovate and introduce the world to the benefits of LBS-centric mobile phones. We’ve been working with ASUS for over one year on the initial nüvifone that was announced in 2008 on the basis of an ODM relationship. Learning from this experience, we concluded that by leveraging and combining our respective industry-leading areas of expertise at a higher level, we will be able not only to significantly expand our product line, but also to shorten our product development time. We believe that through this strategic alliance we are uniquely positioned to deliver the world’s best integrated and most compelling GPS-enabled mobile devices.”
