With Windows Mobile as its co-pilot, the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M10 drives into Mobile World Congress 2010, hoping to capture the eye of road warriors. CNET has your First Look here.
Bonnie Cha
Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.
The Nuvifone M10 is one of two smartphones Garmin-Asus debuted at Mobile World Congress 2010. Unlike the Nuvifone A50, which is powered by Android, the M10 runs Windows Mobile 6.5.3. We're hoping Windows Mobile will provide a better experience than the Garmin Nuvifone G60, which was a decent navigator but failed horribly as a smartphone.
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Sleeker design
Both the Nuvifone A50 and M10 boast a sleeker design than the G60. We found the M10 to be the more attractive of the two, with its fresh white chassis and slim profile.
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Touch screen and controls
The Nuvifone M10 has a few navigation controls, including the Start button and Talk and End keys below the display. For everything else, you'll use the smartphone's 3.5-inch WVGA touch screen. Garmin-Asus also added a 3D Task Manager that will allow you to switch between running applications. There's something called Billboard, which will display a user's most important information at a glance.
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Camera
On back, you'll find a 5-megapixel camera. With the integrated GPS, you'll be able to geotag your photos and then share them via Facebook or Picasa.
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Navigation features
The Nuvifone M10 comes preloaded with maps, voice-guided navigation, and connected services for weather, traffic, fuel prices, and so forth. In addition, the navigation functions are linked into your calendar, contacts, e-mail, Web browser, and messaging apps.
