Autoblog

We said we'd keep you posted, and we meant it. Sister site Engadget just had a brief fling with the GlobalTop HUD GPS device at CeBIT. Unfortunately for them, the demo didn't happen in a car, but rather on the show floor. They said the heads-up display was quite visible on the tinted portion of the demonstration screen, but when they moved it to the more windshield-like clear portion to the side, it all but disappeared. In all fairness, it was a prototype, but we join Thomas Ricker in our skepticism when the device is set to drop next month in Europe for about $100.

We talked about this affordable Bluetooth/GPS system a little while ago and liked the sound of it. The device has a lot of promise because it theoretically projects your speed and other vital info onto your windshield so you can focus your eyes on the road instead of the gauge cluster. Heads-Up Displays (HUD) have been around for eons, mostly used in aircraft, and have proven very effective. Being able to have important information in your field of vision is a great step up in terms of safety, but only if it doesn't distract the driver, and more importantly, only if it's visible. Again, we'll keep you posted. But like Engadget said, perhaps it's best to wait for a full review or an in-car demo of your own, before laying out your hard-earned cash on this one.

[Source: Engadget]

How would you like to have a gadget that sits on your dash and projects your speed and other vital info onto your windshield so you can focus your eyes on the road instead of the gauge cluster? Heads-Up Displays (HUD) have been around for eons, most effectively employed in aircraft, but with some automotive use, as well. But the system has pretty much been limited to high end models or a few GM models like the Corvette and Pontiac Grand Prix. Now a company is about to start offering HUD for the masses, via a little box that uses GPS and Bluetooth to calculate and display speed and speed warnings, as well as navigational directions. GlobalTop Technology, best known for its GPS systems, is introducing a GPS/Bluetooth HUD Speed Meter that will project that info onto your windshield.

No price or release date was reported, but the GlobalTop GPS HUD Speed Meter will be reviewed by the guys at DigitalReviews in April, and hopefully we'll get more info about it then. Sounds like a great idea if the price is low enough and the info is accurate. We'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the tip, Bill!

[Source: DigitalReviews.net via Devicepedia]

Car companies and electronic manufacturers are always conspiring to come up with new high-tech gimmicks for our cars. Almost invariably, they either distract the driver from driving or else help him keep his eyes on the road. Champions of road safety (and cool flashing lights) that we are, of course we prefer the latter. With more cars on the road each passing day – and average driver skill not improving one bit – staying on the road is enough of a challenge without toying with an unintelligible driver interface (iDrive, we're looking at you), being distracted by in-dash DVD players or looking for directions from a sat-nav screen.

That's why we applaud BMW's new HUD. The Bavarians have put all the vital information right there on the windshield so you never have to take your eyes off the road. The HUD projects the speed as well as information from the sat-nav system right ahead of you. BMW's also reportedly working on something called RoadPreview that also projects information regarding upcoming obstacles and big turns, cross-referencing the data with your speed to tell you if you're going too fast to avoid what's up ahead. (Given some of the jerks we've seen behind the wheels of Bimmers, this could only bode well.)

Sounds to us like the engineers in Munich have been listening attentively to The Doors: "Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel". HUDs can be found in other cars currently on the market, like the Chevy Corvette whose HUD also displays key vehicle info, nav directions and even a real-time g-meter.

[Source: Motor Authority]