Garmin and Asustek Computer have announced a strategic alliance that will leverage the companies' navigation and mobile telephony expertise to design, manufacture and distribute co-branded location-centric mobile phones.
Garmin and Asustek have already begun joint development on a mobile phone product line, which will be known as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone series. The companies expect to bring to market several Garmin-Asus Nuvifone models in 2009, and a new Garmin-Asus Nuvifone model will be announced at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, February 16-19, 2009.
"We believe that converged devices are an emerging opportunity," said Min Kao, chairman and CEO of Garmin. "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 Nuvifone 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."
Jonney Shih, CEO of Asustek, said, "We believe all devices should perform and communicate seamlessly not just anytime and anyplace, but in real time, in real places, and we're confident the Nuvifone series will meet this objective."
The original Garmin Nuvifone that was announced in 2008 will be re-branded as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60. The Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2009, and additional information about the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 will be released at the Mobile World Congress trade show.
LBS functionality is core to the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone series, which will offer the same turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation features found on high-end Garmin portable navigation devices (PNDs). It has preloaded maps and millions of points of interest that allow drivers to find a specific street address, establishment's name, or search for a destination by category. In addition, the Nuvifone includes access to online points of interest through Internet enabled local search. The Nuvifone harnesses the worldwide web and information about local merchants and attractions is continually updated. The Nuvifone also features Ciao!, a social networking application that bridges the gap between multiple location based social networks and integrates them into one device, said the companies.
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