Garmin Nuvifone Challenges iPhone

Garmin's first-ever handset includes a touch interface, mobile Web, and integrated GPS.

GPS manufacturer Garmin sprang out of left field on Wednesday with an unexpected entry in the mobile phone market that will challenge the iPhone. Garmin’s ambitious Nuvifone will feature a totally touch-based interface, wireless Internet access, a browser along with a host of other Web accoutrements, and of course, GPS.

Garmin’s biggest assault on Apple will come by way of the Nuvifone’s 3.5G Internet access , which promises download speeds significantly faster than the iPhone’s much-bemoaned 2G access. Garmin has also challenged the iPhone’s ease of use with an usual proprietary menu system that presents three initial selections: call, search, and view map, along with a handful of other side options.

GPS features will be similar to Garmin’s standard line of GPS units, but with some ramped up capabilities made possible through Internet access. The Nuvifone will include built-in maps and points of interest, but also integrated Google local search capability. This will allow travelers to find destinations through Google and have them immediately plotted and routed to on Garmin’s own mapping system instead of Google Maps.

As an interesting twist on the more traditional camera phone, all of the photos taken with the Nuvifone’s built-in camera will be geotagged with exact latitude and longitude coordinates. This makes it possible to navigate back to the spot where a photo was taken later, or share on sites like Google’s Panoramio which allows users to to sift through geo-tagged photos using a map interface.

So far, the Nuvifone’s most critical spec, price, still remains a mystery. Garmin anticipates a third-quarter 2008 release for the phone.