Forget Garmin and Magellan, Goodyear wants to be the go to name in portable nav systems. With a manufacturing and marketing partner named The NCC, the Goodyear brand has essentially been licensed to these GPS devices- in total, there will be eight systems sold under the Goodyear name and all make their debut at this year's CES.
Pictured above is the GY540 with remote and it has everything you'd expect in a modern GPS unit. It features A/V inputs, Bluetooth, 2GB of internal memory, an SD slot, MP3 and video playback, MSN direct services, text to speech and a mountable remote control (yes, it looks kinda like a tire)... The GY540 also has a touch screen, a rubberized covering and plenty of built in Points of Interest.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the GY100K. It's a super small Bluetooth, GPS reciever that can turn your PDA or laptop into a navigation system.
I'm not exactly sure Goodyear is the first name customers will think of when looking for portable nav but you've got to give them credit for trying. - Brian Moody, Road Test Editor
Subscribe
Recent Posts
Archives
Manufacturers
Auto Shows
More Categories
Links
I would imagine this is a reactive response to Michelin's success with their ViaMichelin line of GPS units.
we're going to get over-saturated...
I dunno, competitors already offer all of those things.
When you show up late to the party, you have to bring something unique. I don't see anything that special here.
Too little, too late?
tryan - the difference here is that I believe Michelin has had trip planning and tourist services for years. A nav system sort of makes sense in that case - how about "free nav system with every set of tires."