If you thought the Lowrence GPS was feature-filled, check out this recently-announced high end navigation system from Pioneer. It’ll play MP3, too, but pumped through a 50 watt amplifier, with three preamp outs and onboard EQ. The 6.5″ touchscreen not only displays navigation and point-of-interest data, but you can watch DVDs on it to boot, and it’s motorized, which may not be particularly necessary but it’s sure a nice touch. And of course it’s also an XM satellite radio receiver, allowing you to listen to your choice of some 130 digital channels.
No hard drive as far as I can tell, which is seriously unfortunate when you consider how much more convenient it would be to simply store your MP3 or DVD collection rather than continually swap out discs (and let’s not forget the pricetag—the previous model, AVIC-N1 (pictured), lowballs at around $1400, and the N2 will presumably top that). In addition to the navigation and entertainment features, the N2 forges into more interesting territory, measuring vehicle dynamics such as front/rear G-Force (for acceleration and braking force), lateral G-Force (for measuring cornering force), etc. Drift King would be proud.
Pioneer Introduces First Aftermarket In-Car Navigation System [Yahoo!]
Update: We almost forgot the best part, but our readers are keeping us in line: the N2 uses XM’s NAVTEQ technology to downloaded traffic updates in real-time, allowing you to re-route around traffic snarls. Pretty hot!
