14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone maker Garmin-Asus unveiled last week during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona their first device running under Google's Android operating system, the nüvifone A50, and now we learn that the handset has just received approval from the Global Certification Forum. Interestingly enough, the GCF approved the nüvifone A50 with quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA support at 900/2100 MHz.
The new Garmin-Asus nüvifone A50 comes to the market with Google's Android 1.6 operating system on board, sports a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that boasts an HVGA resolution and a finger-friendly user interface, not to mention that there is a QWERTY touchscreen keyboard included in the package offering an easy-to-use solution for sending messages.
The new mobile device also packs inside 4 GB of internal memory, coupled with a microSD memory card slot for additional storage space, and with a 3-megapixel photo snapper with auto focus and automatic geotagging of images. The handset also comes with support for a wide range of services, including Google Search by voice, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, calendar, contacts and Android Market., and more.
Other features of the new mobile phone also include on-device sync with Microsoft Exchange server, as well as the possibility to wirelessly sync contacts, calendar and enterprise E-Mail, and enhanced location features, powered by Garmin navigation. Moreover, the maps are installed on the device, meaning that one will not have to download them from a server, and they will enjoy navigation capabilities even when outside the coverage area. The Garmin-Asus nüvifone A50 is expected to arrive on the market during the first half of the ongoing year in Europe. The newly received GCF approval shows that the handset is almost ready to make an appearance on the market, even if the forum does not offer details on a series of features of the phone, such as WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 and others.