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 Garmin, one of the biggest names in GPS navigation hardware, has announced that it has, for the first time ever, outsourced production of a device. The Garmin Nuvifone, long-expected to marry Garmin's GPS navigation prowess with the convenience of a mobile phone, will apparently be manufactured by ASUS.

DigiTimes cites mysterious "industry sources" as indicating that Garmin and ASUS have been working on the Nuvifone project for over two years now. Although Garmin values "its own vertical integration, and had never outsourced its products," the prospect of merging GPS navigation technology with the complicated RF technologies incorporated in to mobile phone was too big a task for Garmin to go at it alone. As such, Garmin tasked ASUS with providing RF development know-how and manufacturing the Nuvifone.

Garmin's director of OEM and mobile marketing, Roger Jollis, confirmed that the first Nuvifone will be the first in line of Nuvifone-branded devices planned for the next few years.

We're expecting the Garmin Nuvifone to go live later this year (possibly with a White version alongside the confirmed Black Nuvifone).

[Via: DigiTimes]

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What good is a flagship handset sporting a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM radio, tri-band (850/1900/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSDPA radio, WiFi, and integrated GPS if it doesn't sport the latest eye-candy available?

Well, actually, it's still a damn good range-topping handset, but there's always room for improvement. The ASUS Glide UI that we showed you the other day has been tapped to run on top of the Windows Mobile platform on the ASUS ZX1 Lamborghini-themed mobile phone.

The Lamborghini-themed ASUS ZX1 slider has popped back up at Computex, and it's apparently ready to throw down with all the bells and whistles of the Glide UI - running on top of Windows Mobile 6.1. And with a carbon-fiber rear-panel hitting home the supercar-feel of the device's on-screen gauges and tachometer, the ASUS ZX1 is sleek indeed.

But, the sleek Glide UI and Lambo-design aren't the only things that the ASUS ZX1 Lamborghini phone has going for it. The quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM handset is packed with a 2.8-inch TFT LCD screen @ 240 x 320 pixel resolution, Bluetooth, tri-band (850/1900/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, USB 2.0, a 3 megapixel camera, and a microSD card slot. And, this little sucker measure a svelte 115.6 x 59.4 x 13.2mm

Price? You know what they say - if you have to ask…

[Show as slideshow]

[Via: WMExperts]

Let's see, HTC has its own UI (TouchFLO and TouchFLO 3D) running on top of Windows Mobile, Gigabyte and Sony Ericsson are working on something similar, and now ASUS is joining the pack with its Glide — in its release ASUS doesn't specifies on top of which mobile OS Glide will run, however all their handsets are using Windows Mobile.

Unveiled at Computex, the new user interface makes "multitasking easier than ever" allowing users to "interact seamlessly with their handhelds to obtain everything they require; in fun, style and simplicity."

To be fair, we haven't seen Glide in action, but considering how the iPhone raised the bar, it would be stupid for Taiwan-based manufacturer to release something not useful. As far as we know, Glide will pack such screens as "ASUS Today," "Anytime Launcher," "EziPhoto" and "EziMusic." Although quite small, first screenshots look promising and I can't wait to give this baby a try as soon as it's released. So, dear ASUS if you need a tester, count me in.

[Via: Gizmodo]

ASUS isn't showing any signs of slowing down its Windows Mobile product lineup anytime soon. The ASUS P560 may be a bit overshadowed by the company's Lamborghini-branded ASUS ZX1, but that doesn't mean the ASUS P560 isn't a true powerhouse by any means.

The quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM ASUS P560 is powered by Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 and packs in a dual-band 3.6Mbps HSDPA radio, aGPS, WiFi, 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, microSDHC slot, 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM.

A front-facing video camera should allow for video-calls where available, and the 2.8-inch touchscreen display should make for easy navigating through the fresh Windows Mobile 6.1.

And, the TI Omap 2430 processor clocking in at 450 MHz is sure to make speedy work of anything you throw at it.

We're expected a June launch at a €500 ($772) price point.

[Via: Navigadget]

This mini-sized offering from Asus has finally made its way to the FCC's labs. Launched back at CeBIT 2008, the Asus P320 Galaxi Mini was destined to bring some mid-range love to Asus's Windows Mobile handset portfolio. And, with the FCC giving the Asus P320 Galaxi Mini the go-ahead, we may just see this diminutive, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional-powered handset hitting US shores in the near future.

Just a quick recap, the Asus Galaxi Mini P320 sports a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM radio, with only and EDGE data connection. Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional is running the show, and the  SiRF III GPS receiver, 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, and microSD card slot round out the feature-set.

Pricing and availability not yet announced for the US.

FCC

How does Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 2.5-inch 320×320 display, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100Mhz), tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/EDGE, 3 megapixel autofocus camera (with VGA front-facing cam), WiFi 802.11 b/g, and GPS sound? Yea, we like it too.

Tam Hana managed to get some hands-on time with the Asus m536 and posted the lovely pics and video that you see here. The Asus m536 "Treo Killer" looks like a tweaked Asus m530w, only packed with a heftier punch.

The Asus m536 "Treo Killer" does exactly what it's nickname purports. Not only does the Asus m536 rock the specs listed above, it packs all that goodness into a 13.9mm thick casing - considerably slimmer than the Palm Treo 750v. And, the Asus m536 does it with style. The flat, metallic navigation buttons paired with the flush-mounted touchscreen give the Asus m536 an air of elegance that you just don't get with Treo. The fingerprint-reader that doubles as a touch-sensitive directional pad only adds to the device's slick looks.

It's a shame that Asus chose to go with a tri-band GSM radio on the m536, keeping it from going mainstream in the States. We're keeping our fingers crossed for Asus to make a push for US shores with a quad-band GSM version of the Asus m536.

Check out the video for a quick look at the fingerprint-scanner/navigation pad in action. Nifty.
[Via: WMExperts]

The ASUS P750 has been living a double life of sorts. I told you a little while ago that the Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional smartphone was moonlighting as a VGA-display super-hero in an effort to break-out from its daily ho-hum existence as a mild-mannered QVGA commoner. It was sort of sad that the ASUS P750 had to go about its daily activities with a huge VGA-secret hidden under that pressed business suit.

Well, it looks like a few hackers out there have managed to relieve the P750 of its day-job, in order to pursue its VGA-dreams full-time. Sorg and GreateVK from asusmobile.ru, have announced that they've cooked up a fix that should enable the ASUS P750 to rock VGA display resolution at all times. The VGA solution is due out in final form in about a week's time, so if you've got an ASUS P750 itching to make the jump to a VGA touchscreen, the wait is nearly over!

Stay tuned…

[Via: MoDaCo]

It's not every day that we hear of gadgets sporting unannounced features, nevermind some unannounced badass hardware. That wold be like buying a 250GB hard drive and tearing open the packaging to find that you have 1TB of storage!

Well, that sort of thing seems to be happening to Asus P750 owners. Some users are reporting that their Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional powered touchscreen monster from Asus is actually rocking a display with VGA resolution. Meticulous obsession with the Asus P750's screen resolution pixel-count has apparently shown that each displayed pixel is actually made up of four physical pixels - exactly the situation we'd expect when a screen with native VGA resolution is tasked with displaying a QVGA image.

And, to make things interesting, Asus' spec-sheet seems to indicate that the Asus P750 does indeed have the ability to handle VGA-sized display outputs with "VGA/QVGA dual viewing mode."

Anyone out there with an Asus P750 that can confirm that they're playing with a bona fide VGA display?

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

(Pic courtesy of my favourite SIM-free Mobile/PC online retailer, Expansys)

I was perusing my local retailer of electrical goods the other day, and happened across the Asus Eee PC - now I know it's not anything particularly new, but it IS an intruiging little chap, especially as it was sat with a bunch of other (seemingly enormous by comparison) Laptops.

For those of you that don't know, the Eee PC is a (sub-sub-?) notebook running a GUI'd up version of Linux. It has a bunch of useful apps pre-installed on it (count in Open Office for example), and includes such features as WiFi - not mindblowing, but handy to have nonetheless.

This wouldn't be a particularly spectacular set of information, until you see the thing "in the flesh" - it really is very small, but as far as "internet appliances" (like the Nokia N810 for example) go, it would appear to be a really great productivity device.

As I mentioned earlier, what spiked my attention was the fact it popped up in a mainstream electrical retailer, sat on it's own amongst a gaggle of larger, and more expensive, Windows-powered Laptops. Then what REALLY got my attention was the price - under £250! In a bizarre twist of fate, the day after I first saw the device, it disappeared from the high street retailers shelves…. call Mulder and Scully I say!

A bit of googling later and I'd turned up a bunch of interesting facts, some positive, some negative:

• there is a thriving homebrew community that have hacked the O/S to do more "interesting" things (always a good sign!)
• Research Machines (anyone remember them?!) have got hold of it and are punting it for schools
• It doesn't have Bluetooth
• The battery life isn't "great" - just "OK"
• There are a series of versions, which have varying colours (black/white, but more coming) and Memory on-board (2Gb or 4Gb, but 8Gb coming)
• A Windows version is incoming soon

As I said before, what an intriguing little device! With all of the competition in the QWERTY smartphone market (Notables include the Nokia E90 and numerous HTC devices), this is a different solution, but nonetheless a neat one - and why indeed not put your computing power in a sub-sub-notebook, so you can carry a simpler/smaller/better-looking (ooooh controversial!) phone aroud in yer pocket.

Well if any of the IntoMobile readership have invested in this little gem of a portable PC, ping us a comment and let us know how you find it - personally, I am seriously tempted!!

[By the way, if you do want one, you can grab one here, at Expansys]

Asus is covering all their bases with their latest lineup of Windows Mobile smartphones. We've got the Asus M930W Communicator slated to do all the heavy lifting, the Asus Lamborghini ZX1 should cater to the high-end, and now the Asus Galaxi Mini will be holding down the mid-range as the Asus P320. At CeBIT 2008, Asus launched the Asus Galaxi Mini as the Asus P320.

As an mid-level handset, the slim(ish) and light Asus P320 (Galaxi Mini) maxes out its data connectivity with EDGE, but the quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM radio should make sure that this Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone will be good to go anywhere on the globe. And, it's good to see the mid-range Asus P320 Galaxi Mini rocking a SiRF III GPS receiver, 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, and microSD card slot. Even if the TI OMAP 850 CPU tops out at 200Mhz with 128MB ROM and 64 RAM backing it up.

And, don't forget that this bad-boy is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (touchscreen, remember?), complete with manufacturer-made tweaks and add-ons to the UI. It's probably safe to say that this lower-priced offering from Asus won't be sporting that Multi-Home 3D Cube interface that we saw on the Lamborghini ZX1, but then again, the Asus P320 is in a completey different class than the Lamborghini ZX1.

Price should be 300 Euros and we're expecting a European launch in Q2 2008.

[Via: Unwired View]