Not sure how many of you out there are sporting the Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20 (you know, the one that actually runs Windows Mobile). But if you are, Windows Mobile 6.5 is now ripe for the picking. Get it at www.garminasus.com. [via Engadget Mobile]

Windows Mobile is alive and well at the Computex Show on Taipei. In fact, it's Windows Mobile 6.5 that's making a strong appearance.

After the break, a flurry of phones (brought to us by ePrice.com with an assist from Pocket PC Thoughts) from the likes of GSmart, Mio, Acer, Garmin-Asus and Mobinnova. You might not find them available in the states anytime soon, but that's not stopping anybody here.

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We grabbed some hands-on time with the first Windows Mobile phone of the Garmin-Asus alliance, the nuvifone M20. We gotta say, we're darn impressed. The styling is helped out by a multitude of color options, but in essence think "small," "wee," or "cute" — but in a good way.

The little guy has GPS down in its guts in exactly the way you'd expect from Garmin — maps are included in the 4 gigs of onboard storage, GPS location is added to photos, e-mails, texts, basically anything you'd like to add it, too. There's a special Garmin Car Mount that it ships with that will pass-through charge and holds the device in landscape. Better yet: When you get a call when the device is in the mount, it will automatically turn off your GPS direction audio (visual directions say) and go into speakerphone. Park the car and grab the phone to continue the conversation and the phone switches out of speaker automatically. Garmin-Asus also threw on a custom skin, which does the job but doesn't wow.

We're looking at dual-band 3G and tri-band GSM, so we may not see this thing in the states when it comes out "first half of 2009," and that would be a shame. The stats:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Dual Band HSPA, Tri-Band GSM
• WiFi, Bluetooth, Accelerometer
• GPS (duh)
• 2.8" 640x480 Touchscreen
• 3MP camera
• 4 or 8 GB of internal storage
• 95.3 x 52.5 12.8 mm
• 99g (including battery)
• 528MHz Qualcomm 7200A
• 920 mAh battery (yes, that is small)

More photos and some of the official press stuff after the break.

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For a short while we were thinking that the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 might be the first from the upcoming line to sport Windows Mobile. But now it's going to be the M20, which the new partnership announced today.

Here's what you're getting:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.
• Qualcomm 7200A 528MHz processor.
• Dual-band 3G (900 and 1200 MHz, tri-band EDGE (900/1800/1900).
• WiFi b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.
• Dimensions: 95.3 x 52.5 12.8 mm; weighs 90 grams, including the battery.
• 2.8-inch 640x480 touchscreen.
• 3-megapixel camera with autofocus and geotagging.
• Mini-USB for headphones and syncing.
• Either 4 or 8 gigs of flash memory.
• 920 mAh battery.
• Accelerometer.

And, obviously, all the GPS goodness Garmin can muster. Spec-wise, this isn't bad at all, though we wonder how that battery's gonna hold up. Then there's the lack of U.S. 3G bands. There's plenty more to be had at the Garmin-Asus Web site, and we'll hopefully get a better look at the M20 next week at Mobile World Congress. For now, a few more pics after the break.

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