Mio announces connected devices

Mio has announced an agreement with ATX Group to develop connected devices using ATX's content delivery infrastructure. They give the following examples of the types of services to be included:

•     Weather information and forecasting for your current and future surroundings
• Traffic updates that provide current information about conditions on the road
• Local information to explore your surroundings, including up-to-date address and phone listings for local businesses, and more

This sounds similar to MSN Direct services. The bit about up-to-date address and phone listings makes me wonder if there might not be some two-way connectivity involved, in the form of local Internet-based search.

Mio says they will bring devices with these capabilities to market this year. While they do not explicitly state that they will be available in the U.S., they do indicate that ATX services are available in both Europe and North America.

Previously. Mio showcased a prototype connected unit at CES, but then said they were going to stick to more basic devices in the U.S., so we'll just have to wait and see if they roll out connected services here or not.