Traffic Updates Arrive Via HD Radio

The company Dual Electronics may put itself on the map with a device it has incomprehensibly named the XNAV43HD. Basically, it’s a personal navigation device that will become the first of these devices to receive real-time traffic updates via HD Radio.

A partnership with Clear Channel Radio allows the device to gather as many as 500 messages per minute, with all the information updated continuously by Clear Channel’s staff. The news service is only supported in 50 markets right now, but that will likely expand.

The nav device has a 4.3-inch touch-screen, text-to-speech capability and a multimedia player. It costs $279.99, which doesn’t make it as exorbitant as you might have suspected.

Dual Electronics’ XNAV43HD PND: First with Real-Time Traffic Via HD Radio (Engadget)

Comments

As far as i know that is how my Mother's 2009 BMW 550i gets its Traffic updates. is that false?

"What is MSN Direct"

"Connected Navigation Made Simple…Get up-to-date traffic, current gas prices, weather, news, stocks, local events, movie information, and Send to GPS all sent wirelessly to your navigation device."

http://www.msndirect.com

"Microsoft sticks with analog"

"The company's MSN Direct was developing a new traffic and local information service using HD Radio signals. But after two years of investigating how HD Radio could be tapped, Microsoft decides to stick with its current analog system instead of converting to an HD Radio data service."

http://tinyurl.com/8unwdu

Microsoft's MSN Direct just dumped HD Radio.

Jacob,
We'll check as I know BMW has had HD radio for a while now. I think the point of this unit is that you don't need to have Navigation to get traffic updates which most automakers bundle together.