Navdy Update - February 2015
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Hello!
Navdy’s engineering team has been hard at work, we've made some great improvements and we’re excited to tell you about them:
Improved graphics, bigger virtual display, and better user interface. The new user interface is stunning, the image size bigger, and the gestures are even more intuitive.
Offline maps that allow following routes, creating new routes, and recalculating routes; even if your phone has no internet connectivity or to avoid roaming charges while traveling.
Improvements in thermal, vibration, and dimming that make using Navdy safer and easier to use.
Development of multiple magnetic mounts with a special nano grip material to connect to your dashboard. This means Navdy should fit comfortably on almost any dashboard.
Added a mini-USB port for developers and future accessories.
At the same time, we've decided to remove some redundant hardware components to simplify the unit and make installation easier. Specifically, instead of connecting your Navdy to your car stereo you can now leave your phone connected to the car as it is currently and audio is sent from Navdy to your phone over Bluetooth. This makes setup easier and also means we can remove the internal speaker, AUX jack, and mic from Navdy by leveraging your phone instead. We also removed Navdy’s built-in GPS, and will instead use your phone’s existing GPS, which has a faster lock time with cell tower triangulation.
Company Updates
In 2014 we were fortunate enough to have over 17,000 pre-orders from our first customers. Over 2,000 retailers and other businesses reached out about partnerships. As many of you know, we raised $6.5 million from investors to fund the development of the product and the company. Our staff has grown to a team of 20 people - engineers, designers, and developers, all working under one roof to build the future of driving. We expect to double in size to 40 by the end of 2015.
In January we hosted a very successful Hackathon weekend, sponsored by BMW, in our new office space in SOMA. Over 250 developers attended as well as a dozen BMW Vice-Presidents from Munich, Germany. It was a great opportunity for us to do private demos to over 100 people and see developers get excited about Navdy. Here are a couple of pictures from the event:
The CEO & CFO of Lyft stopped in for a quick Navdy demo.
The Hack the Drive judges panel with Doug and executives from BMW, ChargePoint, Nokia Here, and Pivotal.
A BMW Executive demoing Navdy.
We’re excited about Navdy’s progress, and we hope you are too! Navdy’s shaping up to be even cooler and more convenient than we imagined. As mentioned in our last update we are planning to ship in the 2nd half of 2015. To be more specific our current estimate is for shipping in September 2015. If our expected ship date changes we will keep you informed.
