Granted, this particular bit of news is only valuable to the (very) small crowd of people who purchased the T-Mobile Garminfone, but it's nice to hear nonetheless. The good news: Garmin has released an update to Android 2.1 (Éclair). The bad: it's a manual update.

The update process isn't complicated per se - but it's definitely more work than an OTA:

1. Download the software update package for your Garminfone which can be found here: http://www.garminasus.com/en_US/support/software/006-B1130-00.update

2. Connect your Garminfone to your computer using the USB cable provided in your box

3. Select "File Transfer" mode when the "USB connected" dialog appears

4. Once the device is visible on your computer, copy the .update file from your computer to the device. The .update file must be placed in a /Garmin/Update folder. Please note the capitalization as it is important

5. Once the transfer is complete, please Exit File Transfer Mode by sliding down the notification bar from the top of your phone's screen, touching USB File Transfer Mode, and touching 'Yes'. Please leave your Garminfone connected to the USB cable and your computer.

Note: It is important to safely remove the device from your computer in order for the file copy to be successful Updating your device Once you have ejected the Garminfone from your computer, the UpdateLauncher application will display. Please ensure that the Garminfone is connected to a power source during the entire update process.

1. When the UpdateLauncher application displays a prompt to apply the update, select "OK" and the update process will begin.

2. Leave device undisturbed until update is finished. The device will reboot itself into the update mode and then reboot to the lock screen.

3. When you see the lock screen, your device will be updated. Once you have completed these steps your Garminfone should work normally.

_{Pictured: 20% of the handsets sold}

Given just how much of a lukewarm reception the phone received from reviewers and consumers alike, it's not a stretch to imagine that the average purchaser of the Garminfone probably wasn't a geek. As such, it's sad to see such a half-baked (read: not OTA) approach to the update. Hell, given all that, it's probably for the best that Garmin called it quits on the mobile phone front.

[Source: T-Mobile via AndroidCentral]