14 DAY TRIAL // Since the GPS navigation devices market is a highly competitive one, the only chance for a startup company to actually hit it big is to come up with a design and features few others offer. And that's exactly what the people over at Azentek seem to have achieved, since their SmartMirror is capable of doing no less than three things at a time: display the road ahead (GPS routing), the road behind (rear-view mirror) and even take calls, via the built-in Bluetooth module.
The SmartMirror was initially launched back in August, but it went pretty much under the radar since then. And that's quite a shame, since this device offers certain features and specs that help it hold its own against more established brands and models.
Thus, the SM-450 is built around a Samsung S3C244OA-400MHZ processor, accompanied by 64MB of internal memory, which are used for running the Windows CE .NET 4.2 embedded OS and the Navigon Mobile Navigator 6.5 navigation software. Storage is provided by a 2GB SD card, while the maps are displayed on the built-in 4-inch touchscreen TFT LCD.
The device also sports a 16-channel GPS receiver and offers a host of very useful navigation options, such as Lane Assistant and Reality View for extra guidance, spoken street names via text-to-speech, intuitive menus and 2D and 3D maps as well as easy-to-read map views that adapt to the driver's needs. Plus, it doubles as a Bluetooth speakerphone (via the built-in Bluetooth module), displays the incoming calls on the screen and supports Manual/Auto call answering.
And it would seem that the demand for this product has been so impressive that the manufacturers were forced to increase production levels in order to meet it. "The initial sales have far exceeded any of our expectations," said Pete Muller, Azentek's VP of Sales & Marketing. "We've had to ramp-up production at our factory just to meet the demand and consumers are currently on waiting lists just to get a hold of a SmartMirror."
This is actually pretty surprising, since the device from Azentek is by no means cheap. Thus, the SmartMirror SM-450 has a MSRP of around 800 US dollars, which is way above the average price range for the PNDs offering the same specs and functions.
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