Navigational device maker Garmin Ltd will start selling its repeatedly delayed wireless phone in Asia within the next month, chief operating officer Cliff Pemble told shareholders on Friday.
Speaking at the company’s annual meeting in suburban Kansas City, Pemble said the nuvifone would go on sale in selected Asian markets late this month or early next month. But he said a release date for North America and Europe was still on hold.
“We believe we’re getting very close,” Pemble said in response to a question from an investor.
The nuvifone, two designs of which were on display at the meeting, is a touch-screen smartphone with features of Garmin’s line of Global Positioning System-powered devices, such as turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic warnings and a search engine for nearby restaurants and stores.
Originally announced in January last year, the nuvifone is Garmin’s entry into the cellphone market and considered key to the company’s future.
Cellphone carriers have increasingly been chipping away at Garmin’s market, adding navigational features to their phones.
But the device’s commercial release has been delayed repeatedly — it was originally supposed to be on sale in the first half of this year — as Garmin has worked to iron out technical issues with the phone and negotiate with wireless providers to carry the device.
In February, Garmin said it was teaming up with Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) to develop and produce a co-branded line of feature-rich mobile phones.
“We haven’t, unfortunately, performed the way we hoped to on releasing the product,” Pemble said, noting the company had to develop the phone’s operating system from scratch and initially planned to release it without a dedicated carrier but changed its mind.
He declined to provide details about the phone, such as carriers Garmin was working with in North America or a price for the phone in Asia.
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