Garmin has already delayed the launch of its nuvifone line in the US several times. Garmin president Cliff Pemble announced recently at a shareholders’ meeting that the company was “getting very close” to launching its nuvifone line on sale in the US. The touchscreen GPS phones are going through the second stage of wireless carrier testing in the US and are on the verge of being launched. Unexpected demand from providers meant that the company had little reason to follow original plans and release the phone at full price, in the unlocked form.
Garmin sought to be an iPhone competitor through the launch of the nuvifone G60. But due to the delays in the launch of the phone, it has lost out on its GPS advantage as the iPhone has added the GPS feature as well. In the future, the iPhone could also support turn-by-turn GPS thus further reducing the effect of Garmin’s main advantage.
It is not known whether the launch is going to be based on the Linux-based G60 or the Windows Mobile-based M20.
There still is no information about the American release date. Asia could receive an unlocked, carrier-independent version in late June or the start of July.