# Just bought a Navdy: user review



## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

I just plunked down $$ for a Navdy heads-up display. They have a 60-day trial, so I'm going to put it through its paces and keep UP updated as to how I like it. There are dozens of videos on YouTube but I don't think I've seen anything from the POV of a rideshare driver. More to follow...


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

It's shipped! They are also sending me an extra mount (bottom part) and cord clips, since I want to swap it between two different cars. ETA: Friday! More to follow...


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

Okayyyy, installed my Navdy Saturday morning and gave it a whirl. First impression: very cool product for rideshare, with a few issues but nothing insurmountable so far.

Installation: there are three different mounting systems (short/med/tall) but only the short one is suited for a very curved surface like the binnacle in my Leaf. The medium mount is the one I tried, and it's not really well attached, as the bottom part that sticks to the dash is actually only about 40% in contact with the dash. This makes the display a little jiggly. I'm going to try switching to the short mount, which conforms to curved dashes much better. All mounts are repositionable, which is great.

Setup and pairing was easy.

It gives you access to streaming music. I didn't see Amazon Music named on any of their support material, so I was very pleased to find that it works flawlessly.

There isn't (yet) direct syncing between Navdy and rideshare apps. However, it's easy to put Navdy into speech recognition mode (two taps of the steering-wheel button) and read it the address.

Heads-up navigation is AWESOME. No perceptible lag. Shows traffic, shows best lanes for highways, adjustable zoom level.

It does offer route choices, but it's not yet easy to examine the choices to see which is best (this is one of the things I like a lot about Waze). Probably the weakest thing about navigating in Navdy so far.

The screen has a very narrow viewing angle, so passengers won't be able to see it unless you move it around for them. This could be a feature, I guess... but I did show it to some pax who were VERY impressed. Some people thought it was a radar detector or something like that.

The gesture interface works quite well, though I have to stop to think which direction accepts vs. rejects phone calls. No doubt this will become automatic very quickly.

The whole package feels well thought out, and I'm definitely going to explore more features in the coming days. Got questions? AMA!


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## emdeplam (Jan 13, 2017)

Fingers crossed for the Youtube


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

Haha, search YouTube for Navdy's channel. Their videos are better than anything I could do. All amateur reviews I've seen have been unable to focus on the HUD ... apparently the way it is projected doesn't give the camera anything to focus on.

Look at review videos to see what I mean. In reality, the display quality is like the company videos, not like the amateur ones. Very sharp and crisp. 

I guess I could do a demo of how I get from ping to navigation... from a rideshare driver's point of view.


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## emdeplam (Jan 13, 2017)

You should be all over it. Navdy probably looks at Rideshare as a key vertical. As the first reviewer you might be surprised at the 'support' you get


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## TriadUberGoober (Feb 16, 2016)

$500!! Sheet!


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## cola363 (Apr 24, 2017)

Do you leave it in your car when parked overnight?


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

There's a base mount that sticks to the dash (repositionable) and then the unit proper sticks to the base magnetically. I remove the unit from the base when I leave the car. Sometimes I take it with me, but usually I just stick it in the glove box or under the seat.

The glass part folds down (you can see the hinge in the pic below) and it has a slip-on cover made of some tyvek-y kind of material. The whole unit when folded up is about, oh, maybe six inches square and an inch to an inch-and-a-half in height. Although the pic doesn't show it well, the cord actually goes into the base mount, not the removable unit, so the unit is very easy to stow.










I bought an ODBII splitter cable some time ago, and I guess I need to go get some 3M Contact hooks to hold the flat cables snug against the underside of the dash. My installation of the Navdy was kind of slapdash (eager to get it going) and I want to go ahead and neaten it up a bit. I'll plug the Navdy into one end of the splitter cable and leave the other one open for, you know, actual diagnostics.


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## DrivingForYou (Aug 6, 2017)

Recoup said:


> Okayyyy, installed my Navdy Saturday morning and gave it a whirl. First impression: very cool product for rideshare, with a few issues but nothing insurmountable so far.
> 
> Installation: there are three different mounting systems (short/med/tall) but only the short one is suited for a very curved surface like the binnacle in my Leaf. The medium mount is the one I tried, and it's not really well attached, as the bottom part that sticks to the dash is actually only about 40% in contact with the dash. This makes the display a little jiggly. I'm going to try switching to the short mount, which conforms to curved dashes much better. All mounts are repositionable, which is great.
> 
> ...


Some questions: is real time traffic as good as google's? Is there any integration with your phone at all? Or is it just stand-alone? How do you select alternate routes? How fast does it reroute if you make a different turn than suggested? Does the nav show both total miles remaining and ETA? Does the nav send audio directions to a Bluetooth earpiece ?

Thanks


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## FormerTaxiDriver (Oct 24, 2017)

This product was endorsed by Ellen DeGenerate, and for that reason, I'm out.


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## Recoup (Jan 30, 2017)

Some questions:
Is real time traffic as good as google's?
Yup, it actually seems to BE Google's. Green for good, yellow/orange/red for traffic. Blue line for your route.

Is there any integration with your phone at all? Or is it just stand-alone?
Without a link to your phone, it's just a map (i.e. no nav)/dashboard display. When linked via BlueTooth to your phone, it can take voice commands for navigation, call up Siri, play your music, etc.

How do you select alternate routes?
There's a little unobtrusive thumbwheel that straps to your steering wheel (I have it on the right side, just above the crossbar, so I can twirl it with my right thumb). It cycles you through a menu (that shows up on the HUD). So here's how it would typically go:

You click the thumbwheel. Menu comes up on HUD. Default item is "Place Search."
You speak the address or location: "JW Marriott" or "3415 Hillrise"
It thinks a second, then displays some choices. Let's say there are two JWs... it will show them both.
Use the thumbwheel to scroll to the right address and click.
It thinks a second, then displays what it thinks is the shortest route.
If you like it, click once to accept. Otherwise, scroll the wheel to "Alternate routes" and click, to display a list of other routes you can scroll through. (Overview of route, plus a description like "via Lamar Blvd" and mileage and time).
The map displays with a blue line for route. There are distance and "next turn" cues. 
As you drive, the map sort of rolls "under you" in perspective. It's very easy to read.
Double-click the thumbwheel to bring up Siri. Triple-click it to adjust the brightness (seldom needed, as it auto-adjusts pretty well)

How fast does it reroute if you make a different turn than suggested?
It's pretty responsive. I'd say comparable to Waze.

Does the nav show both total miles remaining and ETA?
Yes, and posted speed limit and whether you're speeding and what time it is. If you're approaching a highway exit or split, it shows on the map that the right two lanes exit or there is a left exit or whatever.

Does the nav send audio directions to a Bluetooth earpiece ?
Don't know, I don't use an earpiece. *You don't need audio with a HUD--the whole point is that it's right there in front of you. T*he display has a very narrow angle of view. Your pax probably won't see anything unless they're right behind you looking over your shoulder.

BTW, you can also choose to accept texts. They show up to the right as a notification (with pic from your phone if sender is in your contacts). You can scroll the thumbwheel to either dismiss it or read it. See the Navdy videos for a demo. 

Thanks
You're welcome!


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## DrivingForYou (Aug 6, 2017)

Recoup said:


> Some questions:
> Is real time traffic as good as google's?
> Yup, it actually seems to BE Google's. Green for good, yellow/orange/red for traffic. Blue line for your route.
> 
> ...


Awesome thank you.

One other question - if you have a route set in google maps, can you send it to Navdy? Or do you have to speak it into navdy?


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