Garmin Introduces a Smartphone-Linked Heads-Up Display for Car Navigation
By Fred Zahradnik, About.com GuideJuly 8, 2013
The Garmin HUD plus smartphone combination provides spoken turn-by-turn directions including turn indicators, distance to the next turn, current speed, speed limit, and estimated time of arrival. The HUD also has a lane assist feature to help you get in the right lane prior to exiting a multi-lane highway.Image © GarminI've always liked the idea of a heads-up display (HUD) for automotive purposes. A HUD is good for driving for the same reason it's good for aircraft: It keeps vital data in your line of site, while letting you continue to pay direct attention to vital real-world visual input. Garmin has just introduced a surprising twist on the technology with its HUD ($129, available later this summer) which is linked to a smartphone running Garmin's StreetPilot app or Navigon's turn-by-turn navigation app. "HUD is an innovative new way of viewing navigation information in the car, projecting crisp and bright directions onto a transparent film on the windshield or an attached reflector lens," states Garmin "By providing comprehensive road guidance at a glance and right within the driver's line of sight, HUD can help increase safety and reduce driver distraction."
Garmin built its empire on dedicated GPS devices, but those are obviously facing extinction in the face of smartphones that can replicate their function without requiring an expensive secondary hardware purchase. Today, Garmin announced a device that could help it capitalize on its changing role in the navigation ecosystem, while still allowing it to sell hardware to consumers.
The Garmin HUD is just that, a heads-up-display that sits on your dash and projects a simple set of basic navigation data onto a transparent film affixed to your windshield. This replicates some features found in very expensive and well-appointed luxury cars, and it’s relatively inexpensive at $129.99.
Information displayed on the readout includes current speed, speed limit, an indicator to show when you turn next and the distance to said turn, as well as estimated arrival time. There’s no detailed map or points of interest, which is actually very good in that it will help keep drivers more focused on the road. It also shows yo upcoming traffic delays and traffic camera locations, and auto-adjusts for night and day. The smartphone HUD will work with any Bluetooth-capable smartphone running Android, iOS or Windows Phone 8 that can run Garmin’s StreetPilot and Navigon applications, and will arrive this summer for $129.99.
Garmin and others who make third-party smartphone apps that offer navigation services face an increasingly challenging market: Apple and Google both offer free software that does turn-by-turn navigation on mobile devices, either built-in or free, and offerings like Waze (which Google just acquired) really does a fantastic job of giving you all the bells and whistles for free, with a system that’s intelligent and adapts to changing traffic and road conditions in real time.
How do you differentiate as a dedicated navigation company? Offering your own accessory hardware is one very good way. The HUD from Garmin provides a real, tangible advantage to using Garmin’s paid apps over the free and easy competition. Until HUD projection becomes a built-in feature of every smartphone or in-car infotainment system, at least.
Garmin Rolls With The Punches Of Changing Navigation Game With Smartphone HUD For Cars
Garmin built its empire on dedicated GPS devices, but those are obviously facing extinction in the face of smartphones that can replicate their function without requiring an expensive secondary hardware purchase. Today, Garmin announced a device that could help it capitalize on its changing role in the navigation ecosystem, while still allowing it to sell hardware to consumers.
The Garmin HUD is just that, a heads-up-display that sits on your dash and projects a simple set of basic navigation data onto a transparent film affixed to your windshield. This replicates some features found in very expensive and well-appointed luxury cars, and it’s relatively inexpensive at $129.99.
Information displayed on the readout includes current speed, speed limit, an indicator to show when you turn next and the distance to said turn, as well as estimated arrival time. There’s no detailed map or points of interest, which is actually very good in that it will help keep drivers more focused on the road. It also shows yo upcoming traffic delays and traffic camera locations, and auto-adjusts for night and day. The smartphone HUD will work with any Bluetooth-capable smartphone running Android, iOS or Windows Phone 8 that can run Garmin’s StreetPilot and Navigon applications, and will arrive this summer for $129.99.
Garmin and others who make third-party smartphone apps that offer navigation services face an increasingly challenging market: Apple and Google both offer free software that does turn-by-turn navigation on mobile devices, either built-in or free, and offerings like Waze (which Google just acquired) really does a fantastic job of giving you all the bells and whistles for free, with a system that’s intelligent and adapts to changing traffic and road conditions in real time.
How do you differentiate as a dedicated navigation company? Offering your own accessory hardware is one very good way. The HUD from Garmin provides a real, tangible advantage to using Garmin’s paid apps over the free and easy competition. Until HUD projection becomes a built-in feature of every smartphone or in-car infotainment system, at least.
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