Garmin To Sell Wireless Phone In Asia

But the device's commercial release has been delayed repeatedly — it was originally supposed to be on sale in the first half of this year — as Garmin has worked to iron out technical issues with the phone and negotiate with wireless providers to carry the device.

In February, Garmin said it was teaming up with Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc. to develop and produce a co-branded line of feature-rich mobile phones.

"We haven't, unfortunately, performed the way we hoped to on releasing the product," Pemble said, noting the company had to develop the phone's operating system essentially from scratch and initially planned to release it without a dedicated carrier but changed its mind.

He declined to provide other details about the phone, such as carriers Garmin is working with in North America or a price for the phone in Asia. A North American version is still expected in the second half of the year.

Most of the meeting was spent reassuring shareholders of the Cayman Islands-based company, which has its headquarters in Olathe. They have watched their shares drop 54 percent in the past year as the recession has caused prices and demand for Garmin's navigational devices to fall.