Garmin Asus Nuvifone G60 [Review]

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Garmin Asus Nuvifone G60 [Review]

Rohan Naravane, Dec 03, 2009 1443 hrs IST

Does a good job of navigation but fails to impress as a smartphone

Intuitive and well-designed user interface, decent navigation functionality, good touch screen response, car kit, 4GB storage

Low battery life, no video recording, no video playback, can't install third party apps, sunlight legibility not up to the mark, laggy while browsing heavy websites, expensive

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The inclusion of a GPS chip in a phone, like every other feature shoved in phones these days, occurred because of a fair amount of curiosity. Companies like NAVTEQ and local ones like SatNav started selling apps that mimicked functionality seen on dedicated navigation devices. Things got really stirred up for GPS phones when the 'My Location' feature was included in Google Maps, which harnessed the power of satellite imagery to show you where you were exactly located. Still, none of this really tempted many people to use their phones as a navigational device.

We assume the main problem was the small screens on mobile phones, and also the fact that car kits were packaged with only a handful of phones. Two companies have come together and have tried to reverse the thought process. Instead of packaging GPS as just another feature, we believe they decided to incorporate a phone into a navigation device.

These companies are American GPS maker Garmin and Taiwanese phone manufacturer Asus. The Nuvifone is their brand of GPS-centric phones, and the G60 is one of their first models that we're reviewing today.

Bundle

The bundle includes a car kit. The wall charger features a USB port at the bottom to which the USB data cable can be connected to charge the device. Along with it you also get a soft leather pouch, standard headset, CD and instruction manual.