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Clarion says the NAX963HDD is intended to connect to an in-vehicle audio/video entertainment system display, such as the company's MAX668RVD touch panel display shown here. The unit provides verbal directions using a text-to-speech engine from SVOX. Hands-free verbal control is also supported, through the VORERO speech recognition engine from Asahi Kasei. Supported languages include English, German, French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish.

The NAX963HDD incorporates a 12-channel GPS receiver, as well as a built-in gyro sensor and vehicle speed pulse input, according to Clarion. No details were disclosed regarding the device's embedded processor or memory configuration.

The 30 GB hard drive holds map data for all of Europe and the British Isles, displayable in 2D or 3D format at scales ranging from 25 meters to 256 Km, Clarion says. Users can create a "favorites" list of 16 destinations, and a "frequent" list shows the 16 most often visited destinations. The company claims that any destination in Europe can be calculated in 3 seconds or less.

The NAX963HDD is currently available in Europe, according to Clarion. One German language on-line store bundles the unit with a MAX668RVD display for 2,499 Euros (nearly $3,200).

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