Watch out, Navdy. Here comes Anker. The Chinese consumer electronic brand is about to release an in-vehicle heads-up display that appears to be similar in design and execution to the Navdy.
The product is called Roav, and like the Navdy, the device appears to take information from a user’s phone and display it on a transparent screen positioned in front of the driver. The product images show navigation, media playback information, the vehicle’s speed, and caller ID. The Roav sits on a pedestal that apparently sticks to the dashboard — just like the Navdy.
Other than a few images, not much is known about the product. We reached out to Anker for clarification but the company has yet to response. The Goroav.com and the product’s Twitter handle were created in late September. It seems like the Facebook page was made in early October.
According to the product site, the Roav is set to ship in November. Navdy is currently shipping its product to test users. General availability for Navdy’s devices has not been announced yet.
Doug Simpson founded Navdy in 2013 and has so far raised 26.8M through three rounds of funding. In 2014 the company announced the product where it quickly surpassed $1 million in pre-orders. The product was originally supposed to ship in 2015. That didn’t happen. In July 2016 the company started shipping some pre-orders to select users through a beta program.
Though revealed three years ago, Navdy has yet to face serious copy-cats. Anker’s product appears to match Navdy step for step. And if Anker’s other products are any indication, the Roav should be decent quality.
Started in 2011 by a former Google engineer, Anker is a top electronics brand on Amazon. Search the retailer for portable battery or speaker, and Anker products will be among the top results. The Chinese company sells low-priced power packs, phone cases, keyboards and mice, and products like lamps, oil diffusers and even vacuums under its new home office brand, Eufy. I’ve found Anker products to be affordable and reliable.
We reached out to Anker and Navdy for comment.