The Garmin Nuvifone G60, a Linux-powered, ASUS-built left-field handset that was pretty exciting when it was announced nearly a year and a half ago, will be delayed yet again, says the company’s president.

Explaining the setback:

Smartphones are complicated and bringing one to market that’s built totally from the ground up on a custom Linux platform is not an easy task.

This is true, probably, but less than reassuring if you note that what the public has seen of the Nuvifone—from the gobs of press pictures in January of ‘08 to our hands-on nearly a year later—has shown a handset that remains essentially unchanged, but mysteriously unfinished.

What’s happening? Extremely pesky bugs? A behind-the-scenes patent war? Trouble finding carriers? A sinking realization that, in the time they’ve spent building one handset, a wildly successful new iPhone has come out with an accompanying app store, Android has grown legs, BlackBerry has entered the touchscreen fray and Palm has come nail-bitingly close to releasing a handset that’s, ahem, “built totally from the ground up on a custom Linux platform?”

Whatever it is, it’s burning right through our—and everyone else’s—excitement reserves. [Twice via Navigadget via PMP Today via Engadget]

Here is the original post:
Garmin Postpones Nuvifone G60 Until H2, Gets This Close to Earning Lame ‘Neverfone’ Nickname [Nuvifone]