On Wednesday, Garmin universal unveiled the nuvifone, a slim, all-touch-screen device that combines a 3.5G phone, a Web browser and a personal navigator with an appearance similar to Apple’s iPhone.

“The nuvifone is an all-in-one device offering unmatched integration of utility and operate in a singled-out mobile device,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and COO. “This is the breakthrough product that cell-phone and GPS users around the world have been longing for — a singled-out device that does it all.”

Personal-Navigation Features

When powered on, the 3.5-inch screen displays three primary icons — shout, Search and View Map. Users initiate a signal by tapping the shout button and selecting a name from the contact list or using the on-screen keypad.

When the nuvifone is docked onto its vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling so the user can start routing to a destination.

The nuvifone’s personal-navigation features include

preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, or both, and allows drivers to find a specific street address, an establishment’s name or search for a destination by category using the nuvifone’s built-in database with millions of points of interest.

Turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions guide the user to a destination. whether the user misses a turn along the route, nuvifone automatically recalculates a route and gets the user back on track, speaking the names of streets along the way.

The nuvifone includes Google local search capability. Nuvifone users can search for locations like “coffee shops” and Google will sort the results based on the user’s current location and relevance. The nuvifone plus provides e-mail along with text and instant messaging.

Where Am I?

A “Where am I?” feature lets users touch the screen at any instance to display the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and…

Orginal post by Top Tech News