So, instead of being ready in Q3, the latest news is that it will most likely be ready by Q4 just in time for the holiday but only if all the carrier approval is done in time. This was reported by Bloomberg when they interviewed Garmin’s VP of Worldwide Sales, Dan Bartel.

Corporate telephone service provider Nuvio Corp. has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Garmin International Inc., alleging its forthcoming Nuvifone infringes Nuvio’s trademark.Garmin has been making its Nuvi line of personal navigation devices (PNDs) for several years; in January it announced that it would be introducing a GPS-enabled smartphone, the aforementioned Nuvifone, in the third quarter of this year. Nuvio said it has attempted to resolve its conflict with Garmin out of court prior to filing its suit in the U.S. District Court of Kansas.

“While we would have preferred to settle this without resorting to a lawsuit, we felt it was important to ensure that our customers and potential customers are not confused by someone abusing our legally protected trademark,” said Jason Talley, Nuvio CEO. “Our customers commonly refer to our service as the Nuvio phone.”

In addition to a determination that Garmin has infringed on the Nuvio trademark, Nuvio seeks a permanent injunction that prohibits Garmin from using the Nuvi name, as well as damages, the company said.

via GPS World

GPS kit supplier, Garmin has launched its first ever mobile phone - the nuvifone, an all-in-one touchscreen device that combines a GSM/HSDPA based phone, mobile web-browser, and personal navigator. When powered on, the 3.5-inch touchscreen display reveals three primary icons — “Call,” “Search,” and “View Map” which allow the user to effortlessly master the nüvifone’s functions.

“The nuvifone is an all-in-one device offering unmatched integration of utility and function in a single 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 single device that does it all.”

When the nuvifone is docked onto the vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling so that the user never misses a beat in the conversation and is able to begin routing to their destination with ease.

The nuvifone is Garmin’s first device to include Google local search capability, which harnesses the vast point of interest information available from the world wide web. Nuvifone users can search for locations like “coffee shops” and Google will sort the results based on the user’s current location and relevance. Information provided by Google includes a web-based rating so that users can select the most appropriate destination and route directly to it. In addition, the nuvifone includes a web browser incorporating premium features and touchscreen operation for an optimum mobile browsing experience. The nuvifone also includes personal messaging functions, including email, text, and instant messaging.

In addition to navigation, the nuvifone includes access to Garmin Online, an online service offering constantly-updating information such as real-time traffic, fuel prices, stock prices, sport scores, news reports, local events and weather forecasts.

Other multimedia functions of the nuvifone include a built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC.

Garmin anticipates that the nuvifone will be available in the third quarter of 2008. Specific details about pricing and sales partners will be announced in the future.