Garmin Nüvifone takes on the iPhone

Garmin's Nüvifone comes with 3G mobile broadband and GPS

Garmin has thrown its cap into the mobile phone ring with the Nüvifone, an iPhone look-alike primed with 3G mobile broadband connectivity and GPS.

The sat-nav company claims that the Nüvifone is the first mobile handset to integrate premium 3.5G capability with a browser, data connectivity, personal messaging and personal navigation.

"The Nüvifone is an all-in-one device offering unmatched integration of utility and function in a single device," said Cliff Pemble, president and chief operating officer at Garmin.

"This is the breakthrough product that cellphone and GPS users around the world have been longing for - a single device that does it all."

Navigation features include preloaded maps of Europe and the US, complete with Garmin-style turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions to help users to their destination.

The phone's 3.5in touchscreen display offers three primary icons - Call, Search and View Map - to simplify navigation.

The handset also boasts an email client, digital camera and support for MP3, AAC and Mpeg4 media formats.

Unlike the iPhone, the Nüvifone comes with video recording, MMS, automatic location tagging on all photographs, instant messaging and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Nüvifone will be available in the third quarter of 2008. Pricing details have yet to be announced.