I am not sure it has come to market yet; that weblink, as at January 2012, casts doubt about a release date or even if it will be sold.
Casio do have this one in use though:-
Casio G'zOne Commando Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Hardware:
Early days in this thread, but we can also expect feedback about using tablets to navigate?
Somewhere in here I think I saw use of a tablet in a tankbag on a bike, and there are certainly people using them in 4x4s.

Software:
I do wonder if there is any serious competition to the Android system and the Apple?

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Dave

Fern
Unlucky -it happens- don't worry- Garmin should replace it under its warranty very fast.
I fully agree with Colebatch & Matt- you have to be able to chose and trust your kit for the environment you will be taking it in-
Vibrations, dust, sand,water etc all conspire to wreck your gear. The Montana has been designed with that in mind and it is also IPX7 certified which is wayyyy more than my Galaxy can ever hope to be

and for those who do love their Montana, just a heads up that Touratech have made a mount for it-

You will still need the Garmin power/voice feed mount which all fits together. in the TT one. Solid.
Equipment, as with everything in life, is all about personal choice.

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I do not list my vehicles or the places I have travelled to nor do I live my life seeking validation from others.

I think I'm about to offend a few people here, but I reckon there is a lot of dramatization on the supposed ruggedness of their requirements and of the extremeness on rtw trips. Some of the most extreme terrain I've riden were simply the poor roads of Kazakhstan. I'm talking about extreme for the equipment which in my view is different to extreme for the person. I can find those conditions in my backyard to be honest. Even planning to look them up this weekend.

The biggest things that're responsible for equipment failure are shock, vibration and temperature. This is ignoring water and dust for a tick which are relatively easy to design for. Most equipment are standard pcb's with some sort of case to protect it somewhat. So given this I all comes down to the case of the smartphone as to date the same design constraints haven't been adopted with phones, likely for ascetic reasons. We're seeing some change in this now luckily.

I'm planning on giving the ultimate addons case a go for my adventure bike. Not to keen on putting that on my trail bike until my contract runs out of I can buy a cheap second hand one because things lead much harder lifs on that thing which is very evident with my 60csx since it's lived on that. Nothing that the altiplano threw at it could worry it , but since then it's showing some scars. Rider error off course.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

With a smile and chagrin,,,
Folks we all know what Garmin and others do ,, navigate.
We are here to explore ,, how we can maximise a multitasking, not only to navigate but improve our lives, while travelling ,,
How many here rides in North Pole ,, comes off the 40' cliff in Himalayas ,,,
And why would you drop anything ,, going 70MPH?

Well the US Army is going with Android and I-Phone.
Army Wants to Issue Battle-Ready iPhone and Android Phones

Let us find that ,, brawn and brain piece of equipment that will cover a range of riders..

Only three months to go ,, where I will do an "Android Only" trip. To see your views in action.

Hardware: one of the big things that lets an Android smartphone down is mounting it to the bike, and you can understand why. Why? Because the market is small and the cost of tooling up for the huge and rapidly changing range of phones is massive. Look at the range of designs, all different sizes, thicknesses, with buttons and sockets in all different places. This is why decent, ruggedized cases and mounts are rare, and we're left to bodge together something from a soft bag, or roughly sized box, with a flexible, badly reflective over-screen, probably designed for city-centre cyclists rather than desert-riding bikers.

So even if Casio, or Samsung or whoever come up with a suitably rugged phone (which by the way you'll probably pay several hundred pounds/dollars for as the market is so small cellphone companies won't subsidise the cost) you still have to attach it to your bike. And you have to know it will stay there, with power running into it, rain or shine, day in day out.

Don't get me wrong, I'm an Android smartphone fan, I love their versatility, the wealth of constantly evolving software, the fact that I can have one device to do all things, reasonably well, and that I don't have to pay several hundred pounds for a dedicated device the benefits of which I may only rarely see.

But, as a serious tool for the serious adventurer, it think they have a way to go, and I think until someone designs a decent, waterproof, secure, easy to use mounting system, they will always be second best.

Maybe Garmin should make smartphones?

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I ,, totally agree with you ,, for us adventurers ,,, also when I go sailing , what a hassel to put the phone in and out of the waterproof bag,,,

You know what,, I will call friends at Sam Sung ,, next week ,, and throw the idea around ,,

Garmin make smart phones?
I wish them bon chance ,,

If the bag were well designed, and the attachment secure it wouldn't be a problem. Sadly it's not.

While you're there can you get then to throw me a Galaxy Note, to replace my battered Galaxy S, for evaluation purposes of course

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Time for me to admit; I have no idea what alternatives exist for the software!

Reading somewhere else, is there something on the market to do with microsoft that works inside these smart gadgets - smartphones in particular but tablets also.
And Linux: I am aware of its' existence. Is that software anything to do with this thread?

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Dave

Why would you want Garmin map capability for RTW? Their content is very limited and I doubt if they'll ever catch up. I wouldn't be surprised if they throw in the towel by ditching their own platform like Archos and go with Android in future. They've already tested the waters with their phone, but noting to serious.

I would prefer Oziexplorer capability, which already has a beta android app out. Androzic allows for existing commercially available maps like Hema maps in Oziexplorer format to be viewed which is brilliant for Aussie outback trips. Those maps tend to be the most detailed.

The ability to us any topo map is much more appealing to me. Gives the out of work cartographers something to do as well. There are already plenty of apps with OSM and Mapquest maps which allow zooming to increase detail.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Cause 3rd party providers like OSM that are free and have the BEST coverage of the non developed world are garmin compatible.

Its like microsoft and PCs ... its not about being the best, its about having the universal format.

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Fair enough. Not sure if the Garmin platform is a good base though. I thought it was closed source. Looking around the traps a little bit it seems that the oziexplorer format is very popular for the ability to georeference. This is obviously not for the same target market as zoomable mapping like OSM.

Interesting development, but I can't help but think it's half-hearted as was their phone attempt in partnership with Asus. A colleague had one and it was rubbish.

It's understandable to not want to make a complete shift in software platform when you consider this company as a workplace. Not easy to say to long term staff that designed and developed the base software to either move into Android/linux platforms under the supervision or guidance from newly recruited staff with those skills or face retrenching. But they could end up missing the boat like Nokia.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

So, back with the hardware, Garmin do have a phone and it is using Android:-
Garminfone - Specifications ~ Garmin-Asus
Is this the one that is "nothing serious"?

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Dave

You got me looking for more about this aspect:- Garmin Smartphone Link Helps Android Users Provide Live Services to Their Garmin Nuvi Devices

Two aspects struck me about this:
1. Garmin seem to be selling additional services that can be obtained for free via a smartphone in any case.
2. You end up "owning" two screens which sort of ties in with earlier comments in here, if you happen to own a Garmin anyway, and all as per the title of this thread - what goes around, comes around!!

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Dave

The biggest negative for me would be - lose one, lose all.
Not yet seen a robust smartphone/PDA either and most of them don't seem to that good at being... a phone.

John

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

Yes, that is one of the factors for where this thread originated, talking with various folks in a different thread about the best value Garmin on the market.
I have never been keen on multi-tools, whether it be that it gets lost, or broken or simply that they tend to do all jobs but none of them particularly well.
But, when it comes to electronics then other facets appear; in this case, Android seems to be a really well regarded "multi-tool" (i.e. loads of apps) operating system. Time will tell.
Even though the OP doesn't like Garmin (I think primarily for its' software, but he can speak more on that) he still carries quite a few tools in his bag - (see earlier posts for his) = smartphone, laptop and, yes, a Garmin!

But, one gets the sense that smartphones are in their infancy for developments regarding navigation apps/software, and who knows where they are going in this regard.

Hardware ruggedness; Yep, needs more development, but I would think that will happen - it did for standard mobile phones with rugged models aimed at farmers (at least one of the vids in an earlier link here is from Farmers Weekly, or some similarly titled source), builders, climbers etc etc.
For the farming video, they drive a tractor and a 4x4 over the various phones on test with no significant distress to the phones.

There are smartphones that don't make calls??

ps Don't have a smartphone, nor a Garmin, but I do have a Tom Tom (but no one talks about them!!)

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Dave