Asus P565 canned thanks to alliance with Garmin?

This report slides into the rare and never sought after ‘uber-rumor’ category as a result of offering nothing in the way of an explanation or even the slightest bit of logic, but if it turns out to be true we’d be pretty bummed. The Asus P565 was one of the few upcoming Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones we were actually looking forward to playing with. No it wasn’t the overused form factor, generally humdrum specs or the substandard display that drew us in, it was the Marvell TavorP 800 MHz processor. A processing beast like that would have definitely brought some sexy responsiveness to an otherwise often-boggy OS. Alas, Asus’ deal with Garmin announced earlier this month has reportedly rendered the P565 as collateral damage. What the initial reports don’t mention that actually brings this rumor into the realm of possibility is the fact that this handset was to tout some above-average GPS features. Needless to say, such functionality would tread on the Garmin deal and could certainly have lead to the P565’s demise. Either way, we won’t morn the loss too much if this rumor does pan out — there are plenty of other handsets working their way to market over the coming months to get excited about.

Read