AT&T launching Garmin's nuvifone Oct. 4

The day has finally come--Garmin's nuvifone has found a home in North America.

AT&T Mobility will launch Garmin's long-awaited nuvifone G60 device Oct. 4, bringing to a close speculation about the device's fate that has dragged on for nearly two years.

The nuvifone was originally announced in January 2008, but the phone's launch has been delayed numerous times. The device received FCC approval in December, but as late as this past July there remained questions about the exact nature of the phone's North American launch. The G60 is the flagship product of Garmin's nuvifone line of products and represents the company's first major effort as part of its smartphone partnership, Garmin-Asus, with AsusTek Computer.

The phone features HSDPA and WiFi and has the same core functions as a high-end Garmin nuvi GPS device, including pre-loaded maps of North America with millions of points of interest as well as turn-by-turn navigation. The phone also has a a full HTML browser, 3-megapixel camera and a 2.55-inch touchscreen display.

AT&T said the G60 will be available for $299 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The companies said that Garmin's Premium Connected Service--which includes traffic updates, white pages, weather, movie, local events and fuel price information--will be available for $5.99 per month after a 30-day trial.

For more:
- see these pictures and specifications
- see this release

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