14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the newly formed Garmin-Asus alliance is also set to release a new affordable handset, namely the Eee Phone. As many of you might already know, Asustek Computer (Asus) confirmed a while ago plans to release this phone, which is branded the same as popular products from the computer maker, including the Eee PC netbook line.
This time around, we learn that the Eee Phone will come under the Garmin-Asus name, and that it will be one of the first handsets the mobile phone alliance announced by the two companies last week will release. In addition, it’s a common fact that the GPS device maker Garmin and Asus announced plans to showcase their first devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, only a few days from now.
From what we've heard, the Eee Phone will not come to the mobile conference, yet it is expected to be announced later on this year as a low-cost smartphone, as an Asustek representative stated on Thursday. At the same time, we should also note that there have been some speculations about the operating system of the handset, which is expected to be the first Asustek offering to run under Google's Android platform, although the company hasn't confirmed that yet.
Last week, when the two companies announced their Garmin-Asus alliance, they also stated that they planned to use a wide range of operating systems for their upcoming handsets, including Microsoft Windows Mobile, Linux and Android. One of the first devices to come under the Garmin-Asus brand is the nuvifone G60, a refresh of the original G60 announced by Garmin last year, while a second one would be the nuvifone M20, a handset announced yesterday.
The new mobile phone, which will be demonstrated at the MWC show next week, is expected to come to the market next year.