Garmin NUVIfone M20 Info
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 17 years
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So, my NUVIfone M20 finally arrived. A friend was traveling in Singhapore and brought one back for me. I thought I would post first impressions on the phone/GPS.
Some quick notes...
- It's TINY, and very light. It is smaller than a Nokia E71.
- It is very blue, kind of a turquoise look. Actually pretty cool.
- It is unlocked. Once charged up, I popped in my TMobile SIM card and the phone portion automatically configured itself. SMS, and data seem to be working fine. Windows Mobile 6.1 has tethering and wifi routing built-in. Have not tested them yet.
- Setup was mostly intuitive. There are alot of configuration settings that can be tweaked both in Windows Mobile and the Garmin app, but defaults seem ok.
- It comes with 4GB of internal memory, and running Windows Mobile 6.1 (there is a download for 6.5, have not tried it yet)
- The GPS portion does NOT do street names. So you will drive along and the voice will say "Turn right in 500 feet")
- The Singhapore version came with preloaded maps of Malaysia and Singhapore. Herein lies the problem...
- From a consumer standpoint, there appears to be no way to load different maps! That is to say, that the procedure to do this is undocumented, and not terribly user friendly. Basically, if you want North America NT maps for example, you would need a key based on the Unit ID of the M20, you would select the maps you want in Mapsource, after configuring your key. Then save the map set to a memory card. Copy the contents of the memory card to the hidden folder "System" on the M20 when it is connected to your pc in USB hard drive mode. I did maange to load all of North America, and am tinkering with some Bluecharts and parts of Europe. (I have some maps already) Needless to say, the setup is for a Garmin expert only. I would be willing to bet not a single shop keepr in the US could get alternate maps running on this little phone.
- That said, the maps look neat. The screen is tiny, but very sharp, and everything is quite detailed. I need to go for a drive to see how well it works in a car.
-Accessories unclude a USB headet adapter, headphones, windshield mount and bracket, two batteries, a usb pc data cable, a usb wall charger (pins for UK/Singhapore) and a car charger. So, nicely equipped.
- I did get Windows Exchange Server 2007 secure wireless sync working, and emails push down to the phone automatically. Contacts and calendar data popped right in as well.
More as I get a chance to test things.
Hey, thanks for the write-up
Hey, thanks for the write-up on the new phone! I am always interested in new tech. It is a shame your friend had to get the phone in Singapore, i.e. it is a shame that it isn't available here in the US.
M20 in the US
I think the M20 isn't sold here for the reasons I mentioned. There doesn't seem to be a way to use Mapsource with it. Of course I got it working, but I have been messing with GPS since before there were handheld units.
So far, it is a neat little phone. Perfect I think for weekend party finding!
Garminfone (Android) Colorado 300 NUVI 550 NUVIFone M20
Interesting. Too bad
Interesting. Too bad Nuvifone is a dud so far in the US.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/21626 - red light cameras do not work
It's a shame that Garmin
It's a shame that Garmin took so long getting to market with this. I love mine, even though it doesn't have the cool apps like an i-phone.
Steve
it's thier own fault, besides does anyone really need one?
That's what happens when you drag your feet, you get lost in the pack. Plus other manufactures that build smart phones, out smarted Garmin with some nifty Operating systems that can run apps.
So it doesn't surprise me that the Nuvifone is a dud, besides does anyone really need one? There are much better phones available at a better price with GPS.
Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.
Nuvi Phone
It's too bad it is taking so long to get this to the US. I hope they make the screen a little bigger before it gets here.
I agree that Garmin's ship
I agree that Garmin's ship has sailed with the cell phone/GPS all-in-one device. I just hope they don't continue dumping time, effort, R&D money, etc into a device that most likely will not make it in the US market. Especially at the expense of their "bread and butter" market...building reliable, quality GPS only units.
Garmin
Just annouced the M10 NUVIFone. So they are coming out with at least one or two more versions shortly.
Now that I have had my M20 for a month, I can say it does work pretty well. It is better in the car as a Navigation device than in the palm of your hand, since the battery life is somewhat poor. It will go 8 - 12 hours with light use during that day, but definitely needs to be charged up after that. Nice thing about using it in a car in the evening to get somewhere is that it charges quickly, so you get where you are going and have a charged phone too.
One annoying thing... the connected services system. On the Garmin Mobile XT, this works fine. On the NUVIfone, it looks at your ip address and position and simply won't connect in the US. What an obnoxious bit of programming to make that happen! Have not been into the registry yet to see if it can be tweaked.
Garminfone (Android) Colorado 300 NUVI 550 NUVIFone M20
Why??
It's too bad it is taking so long to get this to the US. I hope they make the screen a little bigger before it gets here.[/quote]
My Droid has 2 times Bigger Screen, it has Free Live Updates to Google maps..all this is included in the Phone..you can Buy one get one free right now with Verizon..It does not use Verizon GPS at all..it is all based on Google..and it does speak street names..It Just Does..
Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio
Upload Maps to Device
Connect your phone to the computer. When a popup appears on your phone, choose USB Mass Storage Device mode (instead of ActiveSync). This is the only way your MapSource program can recognize your phone.
Once you have completed this step, the rest is straight forward. You basically choose the maps you want and hit the upload button.
The program will create a "Map" directory under "My Storage" and put the GMAPSUPP.IMG there (instead of the hidden "System" directory)
If you want to switch back to Sync mode, you will have to unplug the USB cable and plug it in again. This time you choose ActiveSync mode.