Posts tagged Garmin
WMC 2010 Round Up: Day One
Feb 16th
Mobile World Congress is a huge event in terms of information to cover. A good part of the show is related to hardware, applications and services targeted towards phone manufacturers, carriers,… so not really related to Android but even with most parts of the floor unrelated to it, there is a lot to see and report related to Android, both hardware and software. Here a short summary of what I’ve seen today.
Compaq Airlife 100: I hope this notebook will quickly be available to all and not strictly in Spain with just one operator (Telefonica). It is a very nice looking device with a fantastic battery life. The keyboard has fairly large keys for a device of this size. Showing true focus on Android, it has all the specific keys for the platform (Home, Menu, Back). You can tell that this is not simply an adaptation of a Windows notebook but really an Android device. The touch screen is easy to use but I imagine this will not be the first way to interface with the device, it would be with the keyboard or the touchpad.
Garmin-Asus Nuvifone N50: A phone for a niche market, naturally the main usage would be in your car but the interface developed by Garmin is rather nice. It will be first distributed by O2 Germany with more carriers to come.
Skype: There were no Android phones to demo in Skype booth (plenty of Nokia, iPhone) but there should be some announcement tomorrow during the joint press conference with Verizon. I’ve been told to come back so, it is fair to assume that a better version of Skype is coming to Android very soon.
Endomondo: This is community based sports tracking application, available for free on the market. What is interesting in this product is the list of sports. Besides the classic running and cycling you will find skiing, kite surfing, sailing and many more.
Adobe Flash and AIR: Adobe have announced that AIR will be available on Android and they had few devices on demo with applications. These few AIR apps look identical to how they would on a desktop browser. Adobe’s aim is to bring all these apps directly to Android (and other mobiles platform) without the need for the developers to adapt their source code.
I have been meeting many other companies so expect posts about each after the show. Be sure to come back for more!
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Garmin Announces nuvifone A50 Ahead of Mobile World Congress
Feb 11th
After more than a year of waiting, Garmin is set to show off their newly announced nuvifone A50 next week at Mobile World Congress. As it turns out, the device is more GPS than phone. Surprise!
The Android-powered A50 features a 3.5-inch, HVGA capacitive touch screen, 4GB of built-in storage, Microsoft Exchange support, full GPS, and other navigation services built-in. The touch only device also comes with an accelerometer, 3 megapixel camera, and the Android Market. With a heavy dose of Garmin, it includes an e-compass and their own cityXplorer maps, as well as real-time, location-relevant information like weather, traffic, fuel prices, safety cameras, and flight status. Look for the A50 to arrive in Europe sometime in the first half of 2010. Pricing and carriers have yet to be announced.
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Unconfirmed Rumor: Garmin to Debut Android Device at MWC
Jan 21st
As we near the Mobile World Congress next month, the rumored handsets and announcements are likely to start pouring in. DigiTimes is reporting today that Garmin plans to unveil a handful of smartphones in Barcelona, one of which will be running Android.
The Garmin-Asustek team plans to unveil its first Android-powered smartphone at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade fair, according to Benson Lin, president of Asustek’s handheld device business unit.
We’ll just have to wait and see if this proves to be true. There are no specs, pricing, or carrier details to report as of yet. For comparison, they plan to debut a Windows Mobile phone with a 600MHz processor, a 3.5-inch WVGA resistive touch screen, 5-megapixel camera, and GPS of course.
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Garmin Seeking Android Developers
Nov 28th
GPS giant Garmin is actively seeking Android developers in the Kansas City area. They are looking for people with a passion for improving user experiences who want to create cool navigation and location-based apps. Among the “essentials” are the ability to develop software in C, C++, C#, Java, and other languages.
According to one of two listings on HireADroid, there are plenty of openings available. The full-time spots come with “loaded” benefits and competitive pay. Clicking the link through to Garmin, potential applicants will find the requirements, responsibilities, duties, and more.
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The Ride is Getting Bumpy
Nov 3rd
It was bound to happen. To date, Android has enjoyed a pretty smooth ride. Updates have been frequent, reviews have been positive and the Android world was rosy. But explosive growth is always fraught with casualties and drama. On the heels of Eclair’s release that drama is hitting Android dead on.
First there was the issue of the fragmentation of the OS. Followed by the apparent obsolescence of the flagship HTC Dream/G1 phone. Now, on word that 2.0 will come with Google Maps Navigation included and the subsequent drop in share prices of Garmin, TomTom and other mapping providers, a full fledged battle appears to be forming.
Networks in Motion’s (NIM) Steve Andler, VP of marketing at the company responsible for Verizon’s VZ Navigator and the Gokivo iPhone app, threw the first punch. He accused Google being no better than Microsoft saying “…[Google] integrates stuff into the core, leaving no room for anyone to innovate.” He went on to say that Android being open was “a bunch of hooey.”
I’m not sure which offended me more, comparing Google to Microsoft of the use of the word “hooey.” Read the rest of this entry »
Amazon Chops Garmin Nuvifone G60 Price By Two Thirds In the First Month
Oct 28th
Our recommended price for the Nuvifone G60 was death, payable by the handset, not the prospective buyer. Until that can be arranged, though, Amazon’s plunging $200 discount (on a $300 phone!) will have to do.
To recap the only review we’ve ever written that didn’t even have a “Good” section, the Nuvifone was a failure in about every way that the once-hot handset could’ve been: It’s crashy, it’s got a clunky resistive screen, the browser is really, really tough to use, and camera sometimes works, there’s a $5/month charge for basic services like weather, traffic and local events, the battery life is horrendous, and the OS acts like a navigation unit firmware with tumorous telecommunications outgrowth. And oh god, that price: $300 with an AT&T contract, which is about how much it’d cost you to buy one iPhone 3G with TomTom and Navigon apps.
So yeah, a price drop was all but inevitable, but it’s heartening to see it happen this soon, even if not by Garmin’s hand. Next stop: 0. [Amazon via Engadget]
