Gadgetory

with all the technology crammed into our cars keeping your eyes on the road is proving harder to do a new device aims to help the Garmin head-up display or HUD projects navigation information onto car windshields in the drivers line-of-sight it is a technology that you may have seen in like fighter planes and movies and on certain sports cars and basically what it is is in remote display for a GPS application that runs on your phone that's worth repeating the hundred and fifty dollar device is strictly a display so users must buy a separate GPS app from Garmin that'll add at least fifty dollars to your total tab a few car makers including BMW and GM offer optional head-up displays for dashboard data ranging from speed to cruise control information but for now Garmin is the only aftermarket model available to set up the device there are two options you can either clip a plastic shield on to view the head-up display or you can install the the film on the vehicle's windshield that's the tricky part is getting that film lined up because it's semi permanent Garmin doesn't sell extra films yet so make your first shot count the display offers directional arrows distance to your next turn your speed and even lane guidance but unlike many GPS devices there's no detailed map the good news is the information is easy on the eyes it's got a light sensor on the back of it so it's automatically monitoring the ambient light around you so during the daytime it really brightens up so that you can see it in direct sunlight and at nighttime it dims so that it's not dazzling you while you drive and you keep a little bit of your night vision that way it's a novel way to navigate around but it may not appeal to everyone every three months it seems we get a new form of GPS a new device supposedly risk-free every driver needs to take that decision and make a personal choice because different devices are going to be easier for different people you need to choose the device that's going to pose less distraction for you another tip no matter what kind of map you use be sure to plan your route before you start your car in other words safety first in San Francisco I'm Samir das cnet.com for CBS News