Hudway Cast Heads Up Display Keeps Your Eyes On The Road!

Friday, February 23, 2018

For every problem there is a solution and a heads-up display solves automotive problems like the steering wheel blocking the dashboard display or the speedometer goings off calibration.

USB 3.1 Micro-B power port and OTG port

A heads-up display also solves the problem of losing focus on the road when looking down too long at the dashboard display.

While not all cars come with a heads-up display built-in, you can get an aftermarket heads-up display like the Hudway Cast heads-up display that is easy to use, easy fit and can help you keep focus on the road without lowering your eyes, which is the main purpose of a heads-up display.

Hudway Cast is designed to be used via the apps on your a smartphone or tablet to eliminate the need of using a dedicated satellite navigation system in your car.

Hudway Cast essentially projects a virtual display of your car's instrument-panel display via a small TFT display located behind the lens panel of the Hudway Cast.

Hudway Cast measures 15.4 cm long x 10.1 cm wide and 4 cm tall

The lens panel acts as a mini projector enlarging and projecting through the Hudway Cast lens panel the information from your smartphone screen. The projection is projected 3 meters into your field of vision, giving you a more realistic feel of a real heads-up display.

transparent lens size: 16.2 cm long x 9.2 cm wide

The Hudway Cast's TFT display brightens and dims automatically, which is great as you don't have to depend on the brightness of your smartphone screen.

When powered on, the TFT display reads "Waiting for iOS device or Waiting for Android device", as well as the Hudway device name.

To toggle between Android or iOS connection, you press the button with the circle arrows. The + and - buttons control the brightness of the display.

Hudway Cast works similarly to the Glass heads-up display version but instead of reflecting the information from the smartphone screen directly into the lens panel, the Hudway Cast uses a very bright TFT display to cast information from the smartphone screen into the transparent lens panel.

The Hudway Cast has a clamshell cradle design but you don't place the smartphone on the clamshell cradle. Instead, you mount it above the air vent via the included magnetic car phone holder.

Utilizing a magnetic phone holder with the Hudway Cast is definitely an improvement as it keeps your smartphone securely mounted without having to worry about your phone flying off the clamshell cradle.

The Hudway Cast heads up display can connect to a smartphone wirelessly and via USB cable. When connecting without cables (wirelessly), the Hudway Cast uses your smartphone's built-in "wireless streaming" application to screen mirror your smartphone's screen into the lens of the Hudway Cast.

If you are using an Android phone, the "wireless streaming" application is called "cast screen" and it's located in Android's Display settings.

You can also download Miracast Screen Sharing App from the Google Play Store though if your phone doesn't have wireless streaming built-in you won't be able to use the wireless feature. If you are using an Apple device, the wireless streaming app is called AirPlay and you access it via the iOS Control Center.

When connecting via a cable, the Hudway Cast is hardwired to your smartphone via the included USB OTG cable and using an standard micro USB cable (not included). The purpose of the OTG (On-The-Go) cable is to act as a host to allow your smartphone to be directly connected to the Hudway Cast.

When connecting the Hudway Cast to an Android phone via the OTG cable, you will need to enable "USB debugging" from the "Developer Options" in order to connect the Hudway Cast. Developer Options is hidden by default on Android phones. To unhide Developer options, go to About Phone (in settings) and tap seven times on the tab that says "Build Number". That's it.

The Hudway Cast uses the Hudway Go app but you can use Waze, Google Maps, HERE Maps, Apple Maps or any other navigation app.

The Hudway Cast is powered just like a car sat nav via the cigarette lighter socket of your car though you can also use it in a truck as the Hudway Cast supports both 12V and 14V at 1A current via the car charger which features a USB 3.1 Micro-B connector at the other end.

Hudway car charger model C2-R28E

The car charger unit features two USB ports that can output 2.4A each (total of 4.8A) with an 8 feet long cable. The charger end plugs into the socket of the cigarette lighter of your car, while the USB ports let you plug in other gadgets for charging.