You probably already know that smartphones are eating up everything in sight: you can use them to browse the Internet, listen to music, calculate your expenses, set your alarm, and you can even use your phone instead of an old-fashioned map to guide you as you're headed down an unfamiliar road. But recently the well-known technology company Garmin has been trying something different with its newest display: projecting directions onto the windshield.
Project your driving directions onto your windshield with Garmin's new heads-up device. (Image via Discovery.)
What stands out
Along with a mobile app and a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, Garmin's newly developed heads-up display allows you to get turn-by-turn directions on your windshield without putting money down on a ridiculously expensive vehicle. The display device costs about $130 and, according to the company, the projection can either go onto a transparent windshield film or an attached reflector lens. The display shows the distance until the next turn, speed information, estimated time of arrival and up-to-date traffic alerts.
No matter if it's sunny or cloudy, night or day, the heads-up display automatically adjusts the projection's brightness level so it always appears clearly. Most would agree that this kind of technology is much safer than relying on a propped-up smartphone or GPS sticking to a suction cup on the windshield with the possibility of tumbling off. For companies that currently make standalone GPS devices, this smart approach can open up a whole new road.
App details
Instead of having built-in GPS directions, the heads-up device receives navigation instructions from Garmin's Navigon app for iPhone and Android, or the StreetPilot app for iPhone and Windows Phone. Both apps cost about $30.
For more information on the heads-up display, visit garmin.com.
Story via discovery.com.
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