Smartphone becomes in-car head-up display

Garmin car HUD
Image caption The device can project information onto a transparent film attached to the windshield


The portable HUD works with a smartphone and Garmin app to generate navigation information.



The navigation system can also provide voice prompts via a smartphone's speaker or a car stereo that works with the Bluetooth short range radio technology. The app associated with the sat-nav system is available for iPhones, Android phones and Windows Phone 8 handsets.

The HUD automatically adjusts brightness levels to ensure that projected information is easy to read during the day and at night.




However, he said, the add-ons and gadgets produced by firms such as Panasonic and Garmin that people use on their own cars might be a better driver's aide than those made by car manufacturers.


HUDs that project information on to windscreens can cut down on driver distraction as people spend less time looking down at instruments and more with their eyes on the road, he added.


Garmin said its HUD would cost about $130 (£86) when it went on sale in late summer. Regional maps for the associated Garmin app will cost about $30 (£20) each.

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