Garmin Nuvifone delayed until 2009

By Bonnie Cha on 01 August 2008

If you've been waiting for the Garmin Nuvifone, you're going to have to wait a while longer or perhaps start looking at some alternatives.

On Wednesday, U.S. time, the GPS manufacturer announced that its first smartphone will be delayed till the first half of 2009 in America, even though it was initially expected to ship in Q4 2008. According to Garmin, the delay is because of the Nuvifone's shift from being an unlocked device to a carrier locked one, and that "carrier specific requirements" required Garmin to make changes to the handset. An official U.S. carrier has not been named, but many believe that it will be AT&T. Garmin Australia is waiting until the Nuvifone is released in the States before making a decision on whether to bring it here.

Even with this delay, the Garmin Nuvifone faces an uphill battle as more and more smartphones come out with integrated GPS. There are already a number of GPS-enabled, such as the forthcoming Blackberry Bold 9000 and Apple's iPhone 3G. The technology isn't unique anymore so it will really come down to the navigation software. Garmin's certainly has the experience having been in the GPS business since 1989, so let's hope the Garmin Nuvifone is worth the wait.

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lackylol
05/08/2008 05:55 PM

hmm i like it but that sucks

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