Review: Garmin Asus Garminfone
The T-Mobile Garminfone is a classy black slab. It isn't exciting or original, but it is a nice representation of this body type. On the front, there's a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, a nice choice over the resistive screen that hampered Garmin's Nuvifone on AT&T. Below the screen you'll find a square d-pad with a 4-way rocker button. I hardly used the d-pad; it was only really necessary when I wanted to correct spelling errors or for other small step cursor movements. Around the d-pad there are four touch sensitive buttons: back, phone, menu and home. I would have liked a search button, but I wouldn't give up the dedicated phone button, which many Android phones lack. Still, I miss the days of hardware send and end buttons.
On top of the phone is the screen lock / power button. It's not a very convenient placement, as I often pressed it accidentally while holding the phone sideways to shoot with the camera, or mounting the phone in the included car dock. On bottom is a miniUSB port. I appreciate USB, but most companies have moved on to microUSB instead of the slightly older mini. On the right side of the phone you'll find an adequate, if somewhat stiff, volume rocker switch. There's a 2-stage camera button and a charging port for the car dock on the right side as well.
Around back, Garmin Asus opts for a soft touch finish, which feels great, though it did pick up fingerprints easily, as did the glossy front. There's also a sleek, black strip of brushed metal down the center leading up to the camera lens. Like I said, the phone isn't exciting or unique, but the soft touch back and the clean lines give the phone a very classy look.
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Garmin Asus Garminfone
