Garmin Introduces Nuviphone, a GPS-enabled Smartphone

The cell phone market has a new player: the GPS-device maker Garmin (GRMN), which last night unveiled the Nuvifone, a GPS-enabled smartphone. The device is supposed to ship in the third quarter. The company did not announce pricing or carrier partnerships.

The device is a 3.5G, GPS-enabled smartphone, with Web browsing, WiFi, Bluetooth, an MP3 player and a built-in video and still camera. The device features Google (GOOG) local search capability. It will geo-tag photos, making them easier to find again later. The device also provides access to geo-located landmarks and photos in Google’s Panoramio picture sharing site.

Deutsche Bank’s Jonathan Goldberg Thursday morning speculated whether the Nuvifone is based on Google’s Android platform, given its various hooks back to Google’s sites. He also conjectures that the devices uses a Quacomm (QCOM) 3.5G chip, with a WiFi chip likely from Atheros (ATHR) or Marvell (MRVL). He notes that the device “seems to borrow much of its look and feel from the Apple iPhone,” but that it does not appear to be a threat to Apple.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley’s Aaron Husock says that Garmin indicated it is not seeing signs of economic weakness impacting its U.S. business, and that they consider Street concerns about the European personal navigation device market reaching saturation to be “overblown.”

Garmin Thursday is up $1.11, or 1.6%, to $71.45.