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  • In-car heads-up display lets you respond to texts with hand motions and voice

    We've seen companies take a few stabs at smartphone-savvy heads-up displays for cars, but they tend to be one-way devices -- while they'll feed you info, you still have to reach for your phone to answer a message or get directions. Navdy may just have a smarter solution in store. Its namesake HUD not only projects car stats, navigation and notifications, but lets you interact with them through a blend of gestures and speech. You swipe with your fingers to either respond to or dismiss any alert that comes in; the system leans on the built-in voice commands from Android and iOS, so you can tell Navdy to get directions in Google Maps or play iTunes music as if you were speaking to the phone itself.

    Jon Fingas
    08.05.2014

  • Automatic delays connected car platform until August as it seeks to perfect iPhone app

    It's an age-old problem: do we clamor for a company to ship a product that's not ready, or do we swallow delays with grace as it aims to deliver when things are good and ready? Such a choice has to be made when it comes to Automatic, the California-based startup which had originally hoped to start shipping its automotive dongle + app platform at the end of this month. Those (including yours truly) who pre-ordered on day one received an email last night delivering the news that things were running a bit behind schedule. The hardware itself is actually already being manufactured, but stellar components are only a piece of the total puzzle. The software -- an iPhone app, in this instance -- still needs more time in the proverbial oven, and now we're being told that packages won't ship until "the end of August." A three-month hiccup is nothing to scoff at, and Automatic seemingly knows it. In order to sate those who were hoping to use the $70 product during their upcoming summer road trips, the company is giving early pre-orderers the option to beta test the app as it stands today. For those who agree, they'll receive their hardware in mid-June, but they'll be forced to use it with a version of the app that "lacks a few features like Crash Alert and support for multiple cars and users." We'll be keeping a close eye as the situation develops, and will definitely endeavor to pass along a review just as soon as we're able. If you're curious, we've embedded the email in full just after the break.

    Darren Murph
    05.24.2013

  • Automatic Link converts your iPhone into a personal driving assistant (video)

    That OBD II port that has been installed on just about every US-bound automobile since 1996? Its potential has just been tapped. For years, ambiguous dashboard lights have clued motorists in on internal issues, but driving to a body shop just to borrow a data port reader is so last decade. Enter the Automatic Link -- a simplistic nub that plugs into said port and utilizes Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to your iPhone 4S or 5 (prior iPhones use older versions of the BT stack). Once linked, it'll monitor your driving habits and routes, sending gentle reminders to not brake so suddenly or accelerate so quickly in a bid to save fuel. Moreover, it'll dial 911 and alert your relatives should you get in an accident, and perhaps most intriguingly, it'll send full diagnostic reports to your iPhone whenever a warning indicator lights up. Heck, it'll let you clear the code through your phone once you've remedied whatever has gone wrong.

    Darren Murph
    03.12.2013

  • AutoBot app tracks your car if it tries to roll without you

    We smell a Hasbro lawsuit coming with this one, but for now AutoBot is a funky name for a potentially great iPhone and Android app. Working in concert with a Bluetooth OBD-II dongle (not unlike the Superchips Vivid), it lets you diagnose engine troubles, keep track of maintenance, and locate your car via GPS coordinates -- useful for when some Decepticon tries to make off with your ride or when you're simply running low on energon and can't remember where you parked. It can even be configured to automatically send a text to loved ones should you get into an accident, specifying your GPS coordinates and ruining any hope of hitting the body shop before dad finds out. The Mavizon-developed app recently won a startup competition at i-Stage 2010 and sadly isn't slated to be available until 2012, but we should be getting an early look at CES. When it does ship it'll cost $300 for the hardware and the software, though an extra fee will be required if you want to banish pop-up ads back to Cybertron. Update: Hate to say we called it, but as of 12/29/2010 this is now called the Mavizon Mavia.

    Tim Stevens
    11.21.2010

  • Superchips turns an Archos into a vehicle interface, dubs it 'Vivid'

    We've seen the awful, terrible, hideous things that an iPad can do to an otherwise respectable car interior, and now it's time to see what horrors Android can unleash. Superchips, makers of chips and flash units to summon a few extra ponies under the hood, has announced the creation of the Vivid "vehicle performance programmer" -- an Archos 43 Internet Tablet that's been... augmented with some software. Thanks to this, and a Bluetooth OBD-II module, the car can monitor car performance in real-time and display data while also acting as a G-meter and even a back-up camera. No word on what any of this will cost when it ships in early 2011, but those who already have a little Android buddy will be happy to know that a standalone Bluetooth dongle called the AVID will be releasing in the summertime, enabling all the same functionality without the need for another device. What'll we stuff in our headrests then?

    Tim Stevens
    11.03.2010