Following last month's launch of the proprietary OS'd G60, Taiwan's now playing host to the Windows Mobile-based M20 from Garmin-Asus, the joint venture's second model. Local carrier Chunghwa will be carrying the phone, which features HSDPA, a VGA display, 3 megapixel cam, and comprehensive navigation capabilities that earn it the Garmin name -- but it turns out they'll also be launching the iPhone 3GS and Hero in the next few days, a situation that effectively defines the phrase "hostile competitive landscape." Best of luck, Garmin-Asus -- given the Duke Nukem-esque delays you've encountered in your bumpy road to retail, you need all the luck you can get if you want to turn a profit any time soon.

Yeah, we've seen our fair share of glimpses at Garmin-ASUS' nüvifone G60, but with the Linux-based phone just weeks away from shipping over in the Far East, these last minute looks are becoming all the more tantalizing. A reviewer over in Malaysia managed to spend a bit of quality time with the handset, and while he's still waiting for his official review unit, he managed to snag a litany of screenshots that gives us a fantastic idea of what to expect from a user interface perspective. We have to say -- we kind of dig the whimsical look at a glance, but it makes us wonder just how serious of a smartphone this thing really is. With Android already out, does this UI look like it has the chops to compete? Hit the read link and let us know.

[Via GPSTracklog, thanks Rich]

After a patently absurd amount of delays, it actually feels like the Garmin-ASUS nüvifone tandem is approaching a proper launch. Whether or not anyone actually cares anymore, however, remains to be seen. Across the sea over in Malaysia, one particularly lucky soul seems to have stumbled upon both the Linux-based nüvifone G60 and the WinMo-powered nüvifone M20, and he claims that both handsets will be shipping en masse to the region "within 30 days." Best of all, that totally jibes with what we've heard directly from Garmin today, which has informed us that the smartphone will be in Singaporean stores in August, with a few other Asian nations seeing it in late July. Now, if only North Americans could look forward to the same...

Odds are you've never seen a phone by Tatung -- much less owned one -- but according to the Taiwanese firm's chairman, the company is now pursuing development of smartphones powered by the Android platform. DigiTimes believes the phones will find their way to Tatung InfoComm, winner of one of Taiwan's WiMAX licenses -- and the combination of 4G plus Android is a tantalizing thought indeed. Of course, that would put these bad boys no closer to US shores than any other Tatung handset -- but at this point, Android needs whatever hardware it can get, no matter how geographically limited it might be.

According to MobileTechReview the HTC Touch Diamond2 is due out this month in Taiwan. Local price is NT$21,900 (US$648.93) and it'll come with a 8GB memory card inside the box. Still no US release date, but with the UK version reportedly launching next week, we wouldn't be surprise if April was the lucky month for a stateside debut, as well.

Information about Palm's hotly anticipated Pre just keeps slowly trickling out... today, we hear that Taiwanese OEM Chi Mei Communication Systems will have the honor of assembling the smartphones. The company's not one of the largest out there, but it also manufactures phones for Motorola. This info comes to us courtesy of DigiTimes, so make of it what you will, but they also say that production could begin as early as March. Considering that it's March now, well... we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

[Via Brighthand]

When we think "NTT DoCoMo," the images of Tokyo, Akihabara, wide VGA, and one-seg are all indelibly burned into our minds. Fact is, though, NTT DoCoMo has ventures all around the world -- heck, they helped AT&T build out its Hawaiian network -- and they've been working with Taiwan's Far EastTone for a while now to bring i-mode-branded gear to the island. Latest in that fruitful partnership will be Fujitsu's F905i, a swiveling flip with a 3.2 megapixel cam, wide VGA display, and the capability to slow down conversations in real time by 30 percent, which is just about the freakiest thing we've ever heard. Granted, it's not the 25-phone barrage we're used to seeing out of Japan, but it's a start.

Far from being the first dual-mode handset we've seen (heck, it's not even the first WiMAX-friendly dualie), Qsida's recently showcased slider is still quite intriguing. The currently unnamed cellphone supports both 802.16e WiMAX as well as GSM / GPRS / EDGE networks, and just in case you're hankering for another way to get connected, there's a built-in WiFi module too. Reportedly, the smartphone is a test device used in the M-Taiwan initiative to promote WiMAX, and aside from handling voice calls via (almost) any flavor of wireless protocol, you'll also find Windows Mobile 6.1 running the show. Granted, this particular unit wasn't down with 3G, but a spokesperson was adamant that such a handset would be added to its portfolio eventually.

Certain features we really never get tired of reporting, because, well, they're far rarer than they should be. Case in point: the elusive 3.5mm headphone jack, a drop-dead obvious spec that allows real, actual headphones to be plugged in without the aid of a device curiously referred to as a "dongle" in some circles. The LG KM501 for the Taiwanese market is pretty plain by most definitions -- 2 megapixel camera, dedicated music controls, polarizing black / red styling, EDGE data, microSD slot, and A2DP -- but the thing that keeps drawing us back in is that darned jack. Why don't all phones have one of these? Can someone please explain that to us in simple terms? No word on if or when this one might be found outside of Taiwan, which as far as we're concerned, is a travesty for real headphone lovers everywhere.

[Via Unwired View]

For most of us, the Porsche Design P'9521 is hard enough to find as it is -- but throw a limited edition into the mix, and, well, you have a very special phone indeed. The P'9521 is being re-clad in a rather striking white as part of the design firm's Pearl White Collection being launched in Taiwan this month, and the privilege of adding this one to your stable will run a mere 62,800 Taiwan dollars -- about $2,063. Pricey, yes, but at least Porsche has the common decency to throw in a 2GB microSD card and the reassurance that the odds of running into another P'9521 Pearl White user are nearly zero.

[Via Slashphone]

Wait, Taiwan? i-mode? Yep, turns out that Far EasTone Telecommunications licenses NTT DoCoMo's well-known mobile internet brand for use in Taiwan, and they've partnered with Nokia to deliver the service on a customized version of the 6124 classic candybar -- the first Nokia ever to offer it. Of course, no i-mode handset is complete without blazing data speeds, and sure enough, the 6124 classic delivers with support for HSDPA in addition to a 2 megapixel cam, QVGA display, and S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. Yep, that's right, not only is Nokia tying up with i-mode, they're doing so on an honest-to-goodness smartphone. Kudos!

[Via IntoMobile]

As expected (sort of), Gigabyte's GSmart division came packing at MWC this year with a small army of WinMo handsets ready to battle -- and this time, they're taking the war to Europe. The headliner is the MS808, featuring HSDPA and GPS alongside support for a healthy majority of the world's digital TV standards: DVB-T, DVB-H, T-DMB, and ISDB-T. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually feature the cool skeleton view currently showing up on GSmart's website, but you get the idea. Also being shown are the MS800, MS820, and MS804 -- the last of which looks suspiciously like the O2 Xda Denim -- all with the same integrated HSDPA and GPS as the MS808, but lacking the television tunerfest. Separately, Gigabyte announced that its phalanx of new handsets will feature Garmin's Mobile XT software and are all cocked and loaded to be unleashed on an unsuspecting (or at this point, suspecting, we suppose) European market in the near future, leaving the glut of Windows Mobile Professional hardware packed with more choice, more confusion, and arguably less differentiation than ever. There are worse problems to have, we suppose.

Read - GSmart Unveils 3.5G Mobile TV and GPS PDA Phones at Mobile World Congress 2008
Read - GSmart introduces 3.5G GPS PDA phones with GARMIN Mobile XT to European market

According to Bill Chen, General Manager of Motorola Taiwan's Mobile Device business, the second generation Linux-based Ming handset won't launch until Q2 of 2008. Not February as initially rumored. What's more, the handset will be introduced in high-end and entry-level configurations -- unfortunately, both are GSM/EDGE, not 3G capable. DigiTimes says that Inventec won the manufacturing contract of this MOTO Beijing designed handset. Given the unusual (for MOTO) use of a lower-case vowel in the name, there's a good chance this was never meant for Stateside consumption anyway. Too bad, eh?

While we've been ogling Q9s, RAZR 2 Luxury Editions, and nonexistent Palm-powered Q2s in these parts, Motorola's been preparing a pretty freakin' aggressive attack for our friends across the Pacific. Though Moto's chilling in third place for global handset sales, they rank a measly fourth in Taiwan, and it looks like they want to do something about it with an astounding 20 to 30 Taiwanese launches planned for 2008 -- according to the company's regional general manager, anyway. By our calculations, that's anywhere between one and three phones per month, making Taiwan the place to move if you happen to be a diehard fan. Interestingly, Moto used the same occasion to reiterate that it has no timetable established for launching Android-based handsets, so we guess you can hold off planning the move if you're only interested in its Google wares.

[Via Slashphone]