Garmin® nüvifone™ Takes Center Stage at GSMA Mobile World Congress
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN) and the
world’s leading GPS manufacturer, today announced that the nüvifone will
be on display at its GSMA Mobile World Congress booth in Barcelona,
Spain, February 11-14. Trade show attendees are encouraged to visit
Garmin’s booth (Hall 7, #7C37) to see the nüvifone and Garmin’s other
industry-leading mobile phone navigation technologies.
“The nüvifone is a one-of-a-kind device that converges the essential
technologies used regularly by mobile individuals – cell phone, personal
navigator and web browser,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and
COO. “The GSMA Mobile World Congress trade show is the first opportunity
for the public-at-large to see the nüvifone up-close, and we’re
confident they will be impressed with what they see.”
The nüvifone is the first touchscreen device to integrate a mobile
phone, premium web browser and personal navigator. It is a quad-band GSM
mobile phone with UMTS, which is compatible with the latest in 3.5G
networks around the world. Designed for high speed downlink packet
access (HSDPA), nüvifone supports the highest download speeds offered by
3G mobile networks. The nüvifone also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
connectivity.
The nüvifone’s 3.5-inch touchscreen display greets users with three
primary icons – “Call,” “Search,” and “View Map” – and four secondary
icons – “Browser,” “SMS”, “Email” and “Tools.” After selecting the
“Call” icon, users can dial a number from the on-screen keypad or select
a name from the contact list. Because seamless integration is core to
the nüvifone’s design, the nüvifone makes it easy to talk on the phone
and navigate to a destination at the same time. When the nüvifone is
docked onto the vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS,
activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling so that
the user can continue their conversation and route to their destination
with ease.
A quick tap of the “Search” icon reveals a page that will look familiar
to current nüvi users. Icons such as “Address”, “Points of Interest”,
and “Favorites” are some of the navigation options to choose between.
Users may also select “Google local search” capability, which harnesses
the vast point of interest information on the world wide web. Google
local search information includes a web-based rating so that users can
choose where to navigate based on the location’s proximity or rating.
The nüvifone is Garmin’s first device to incorporate Google local search.
Once a user selects where they want to navigate, the nüvifone gives
turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions to the destination. If a turn is
missed along the route, nüvifone automatically recalculates a route and
gets them back on track. The nüvifone includes preloaded maps of Eastern
and Western Europe, North America or both. Nüvifone customers will also
have access to free and subscription based dynamic content via Garmin
OnlineTM, an online service offering constantly-updating information
such as real-time traffic, weather forecasts, and safety camera
information.
The nüvifone’s built-in camera has Location Message Service (LMS), which
tags every location with the exact latitude and longitude reference of
where the image was taken. The user may then save the image so they can
navigate back to the location, or email the image to a recipient who can
navigate directly to the location. In addition, the nüvifone provides
direct access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing
photographs available through Google’s Panoramio picture sharing site.
The Panoramio photo search feature enhances the enjoyment and adventure
of sightseeing in an otherwise unfamiliar location. Other multimedia
functions of the nüvifone include a built-in video camera and MP3 player.
Garmin anticipates that the nüvifone will be available in the third
quarter of 2008. Specific details about pricing and sales partners will
be announced in the future. Additional information about nüvifone is
available at www.garmin.com/nuvifone.
About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN)
group of companies, which designs and manufactures navigation,
communication and information devices – most of which are enabled by GPS
technology. Garmin is a leader in the general aviation and consumer GPS
markets and its products serve aviation, marine, outdoor recreation,
automotive, wireless and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated
in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the
United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information,
visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom
or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin and
nüvi are registered trademarks and nüvifone and Garmin Online are
trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Anticipated product
availability dates are based on management’s current expectations and
are not guaranteed.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service
marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on forward-looking statements
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd.
and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product
introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based
on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and
circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results
could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors
and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the
risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 30, 2006 filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (Commission file number 000-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form
10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.