Garmin-Asus breaking up; no Windows Phone 7 device from duo

In what is probably not a huge surprise, according to Digitimes, the Garmin-Asus relationship is coming to end January 2011 after a short 2-year flirtation. Sales of branded Garmin-Asus devices really never made waves (seven in all were released) so it makes sense to end this experiment. In addition, it was told to CNet Asia, that they had no plans to deliever a WP7 device. This contradicts an earlier report which suggested that a Q1 2011 WP7 device would happen.

This also begs the question of what was that Asus phone we saw awhile ago running WP7--it does seem to be solely Asus branded phone, so perhaps they're already on the go to deliver some new wares (we actually really like the brushed metal look on this device; see video here) No word from Asustek on their WP7 plans have been confirmed though.

Also, in related news, HTC is reportedly working more closely with Garmin rival TomTom to bring better mapping solutions to its devices. We've already seen this on some Euro HD2 handsets, though no word if this will also come to Windows Phone 7.

Source: Digitimes; via ZDNet Asia

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.