2:42 pm, February 14, 2009
MOVE over Apple – there’s a new contender for the smart phone crown and it has been designed with car drivers in mind!
The nuvifone G60 is packed with technology that will make motorists’ lives easier and we can’t wait to get our hands on one.
Built as a collaboration between our favourite sat nav makers, Garmin, and computer experts ASUS, the new mobile is going to be must-have for 2009. Why? Well, it’s got more tricks up its sleeves than Paul Daniels for a start!
At the centre of its technology is a location -ased service (LBS) that uses GPS and internet technology to determine exactly where you are and what’s around you. Hit the Where Am I? button on the device and you’ll be given your exact GPS coordinates, as well as the nearest road or junction.
Social Networking addicts will love the Ciao! function too, which can automatically update your status with your exact position – and even let you know on a map where your friends are. Clever stuff.
The G60 comes with 3G and WiFi internet access and a smart HTML web browser, similar to your PC’s, so you can stay up to date with your favourite sites, like Car Dealer! Email access is available too with support for POP3 and IMAP4 email accounts such as Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo.
You tap out messages on the 3.55-inch touch-screen – with a similar keyboard to the iPhone – and there’s predictive text to eliminate errors as well.
All your usual mobile phone functions are present – such as SMS texts and of course phone calls. Plus, like Apple’s iPhone, there will be downloadable ‘apps’ which will offer things like live traffic information, flight status, local events and movie times.
There’s a built-in 3MP camera – 1MP more than Apple’s offering – and even this has some clever features. Each picture is geo-tagged with the location of where it was shot so users can navigate back to it.
And then there’s the real killer feature – the sat nav. Garmin swept the board in our recent sat nav tests with its units’ brilliant interface and spot-on navigation – the nuvifone is likely to be no different. European mapping will be built-in with millions of points of interest included and live information will be displayed on your surroundings via the phone’s internet connection.
Pricing for this amazing new piece of kit is yet to be announced – as have details on which networks it will be on – but I’ve been promised a hands-on as soon as it’s released and will bring you a full test in a future column.
Price: TBA
Details: www.garminasus.com
