<h2>The car stereo gives way to infotainment</h2>
<div class="cesprev_by v1 g3">By Wayne Cunningham
December 16, 2005</div>
The automotive aftermarket, previously relegated to replacing cheap factory-installed stereos with really loud systems, comes into its own at CES in 2006. In recognition, CES is opening up the Automotive Aftermarket Showcase just for these manufacturers.
<strong class="a3">Car stereos[/b]
Instead of pumping out the bass in a teenager's hot rod, stereo head units on display at CES will offer much more than is available as a factory option in even luxury cars. In fact, calling them car stereos doesn't tell the whole story. High-end units handle all sorts of infotainment functions, such as music, video, and navigation.
One unit we are particularly looking forward to seeing is Kenwood's new DPX701 head unit. This one has a USB port, an innovation we've been looking for in a car stereo. With this system, we expect to be able to plug in a USB key full of music and play it over the stereo. The DPX701 is also double-DIN-size, and Kenwood uses the extra space for larger controls, making the unit safer to operate while driving.
Jensen will also have some interesting head units on display. The MP8610BT does all the usual--AM, FM, and MP3 and WMA CDs--but also has built-in Bluetooth hands-free cell phone integration. Calls come through the car's audio system and use the head unit's LCD to display caller ID and address book information. Along with the Bluetooth unit, Jensen promises a single-DIN in-dash car computer with a 40GB hard drive and DVD.
Not to be outdone in the Bluetooth department, Kenwood announced it would show off its KCA-BT100 Bluetooth Hands Free Kit. This kit adds Bluetooth cell phone integration to any 2006 Kenwood CD or video head unit.
Alpine offered no details but will show off a whole new line of automotive products for 2006. Panasonic, Eclipse, Clarion, and Sony will also feature car entertainment systems at CES.
<strong class="a3">Navigation[/b]
Portable in-car GPS navigation units make up another segment where we're seeing rapid development. Manufacturers are expanding their capabilities to make them useful beyond simply finding new routes to unfamiliar locations.
Garmin leads the charge by showing off two new products in its StreetPilot series at CES. The StreetPilot 2730 adds XM traffic information to mapping capabilities, warning drivers of upcoming traffic congestion and routing around it. It also receives weather information via XM, and all the XM satellite radio channels. In addition, the unit can play MP3 files loaded onto its hard drive. The StreetPilot 2730 has an FM transmitter and a line-out jack to play music over a car stereo.
The StreetPilot 7200 is Garmin's other new offering. It includes the features in the 2730, but adds ClearChannel traffic information, an FM broadcast alternative to XM available in some cities. The unit features a larger, 7-inch screen, making it easier to navigate through its touch-screen controls.
We'll be on the lookout for other navigation systems that incorporate traffic reporting or other innovative features among the slew of new products at CES.
http://www.cnet.com/4520-11405_1-6398212-1.html?tag=lnav
Satellite radio integration
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<div class="v1" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px">Delphi's XM MyFi</div>
</div>
We've seen quite a few portable satellite radio devices, including the Delphi XM MyFi and the Pioneer AirWare, but there will be at least a couple of new smaller satellite radio-ready devices that can play back MP3 and other digital audio files as well. Although they aren't fully blown portable satellite receivers--meaning they're receivers only when docked at home or in the car--the Samsung NeXus (XM) and the Sirius S50 will allow users to take recorded satellite content with them anywhere. Dell should have a player that also includes XM integration. In other words, the next cool and useful extra feature for MP3 players looks like satellite radio.
http://www.cnet.com/4520-11405_1-6398226-1.html?tag=lnav
The latest and greatest car technology from CES.
Alpine has announced its first portable navigation unit at CES 2006: Called Blackbird, the unit is similar in size to
Magellan's RoadMate 700
.
However, Alpine built up its own navigation expertise in designing the OEM head units found in Hondas and Acuras. The clean design of the Blackbird features a 3.5-inch LCD and a large four-way interface button, which lets you choose navigation, the media player, or vertical scrolling. The unit includes a 4GB hard drive, an SD slot, and 6 million points of interest. It has a built-in FM receiver for traffic from providers such as Clear Channel and a one-touch detour feature helps you find your way around problems. The text-to-speech feature reads out the names of roads during audible route guidance. The Blackbird's media player, built by Microsoft, handles a wide variety of formats and plays files from SD cards. The mounting base for the Blackbird includes an FM modulator so that music can be piped through your car's stereo system. The route guidance and media playback work together, muting music during audible route advisories. The
2005 Acura RL
is one of our Car Tech Editors' Choices, so we expect a lot from the Blackbird.
http://www.cnet.com/4831-11405_1-6413847.html?tag=all
What gadgets will invade your household in 2007?
CES, Macworld Duel for Dollars
What gadgets will invade your household in 2007?
Manufacturers' feverish campaigns to win gadget freaks' hearts, minds and wallets will go white-hot next week at a pair of dueling conferences where the latest, greatest -- and undoubtedly some of the lamest -- products will be exposed for the first time to garner public adulation or scorn.
The conferences --
2007 International CES
and
Macworld Conference & Expo 2007
-- start Monday in Las Vegas and San Francisco respectively.
Big money's at stake as manufacturers compete for market share: The consumer electronics industry pushed $145 billion worth of product in 2006, with the average U.S. household spending $1,500, according to Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, which produces the CES show.
"Americans can't do without their beloved consumer electronics," Shapiro said.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates' kicks off CES with his pre-show keynote Sunday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. But Michael Dell, founder and chairman of computer company Dell, may address a smaller crowd on Day 2: His Tuesday presentation is scheduled for the same time as Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote.
After Apple's uber-successful 2006, what will Jobs do for an encore? Along with disclosing details of the iTV, announcing a release date for Mac OS X Leopard, and possibly revising the iPod and Mac Pro lines, conventional wisdom calls for an Apple-branded cell phone that builds on the iPod brand.
But here's the problem: Even if Jobs meets the expectations of the rumor-mongers, Apple's going to be a disappointment, especially when entering a new market.
Exceeding expectations in this case means delivering a device that works with every mobile and Wi-Fi network, supports video conferencing with iChat users, beats the features of the Palm Treo 700 and Research in Motion BlackBerry Pearl, can buy songs off iTunes without use of a computer and runs Mac OS X, too. That's not going to happen Tuesday, because Apple isn't releasing a $3,000 phone.
Outside the Apple world, what products will whet CES attendees' appetites? The giant bazaar will feature everything from business phones to baffling USB gizmos. Here are some contenders for best of show at CES.
Computers
Expect Windows Vista, the company's long-awaited new operating system, to feature prominently in Gates' keynote. Aside from the new OS, laptops will come with promises of solid-state mass storage, such as the 32-GB SanDisk SSD UATA 5000. Plus, Toshiba will hawk external drives like its beautiful, bus-powered (and unimaginatively named) Portable External Hard Drive.
Digital Audio Players
Digital audio players will compete for consumers ears (and eyes) as the market shifts into "replacement mode" and video playback becomes an important feature, said Todd Thibodeaux, CEA's senior vice president of industry relations.
Creative's as-yet-unnamed player with integrated X-Fi, which claims to offer 7.1-channel surround sound through standard stereo headphones, might steal the thunder. XM Satellite Radio, meanwhile, will offer a peek at a system that adds real-time weather-tracking and GPS to the sat-rad mix.
Cars
Toyota will show off a self-parking Prius, while Mercedes-Benz rolls out its wireless USB-equipped R500, which plays media from portable players through a surround-sound music system and headrest monitors.
Digital Cameras
The cheap SLR fad might make Nikon's capable D40 hard to ignore, but Fujifilm will try to grab digicam plaudits with new FinePixes. Its F40fd, for example, will offer 8-megapixel imaging and ISO 2000-equivalent sensitivity.
Video
"Every year at CES we see the world's largest HDTV," said CES communications director Tara Dunion. "I can't tell you how big this year's is going to be, but it's extremely large." Expect this year's big winner to hit 110 or 120 inches.
HDTV, gusted along by new gaming consoles and high-definition video services, will occupy the high-priced aerie, with LED-based backlighting among the innovations on show. LG Electronics and rivals will show off 1080p plasmas on display, but by today's standards, that's nothing.
Samsung's plasma TVs able to stream video wirelessly from Wi-Fi devices and Westinghouse's 56-inch, 2160p Quad HD panel set should be standouts. Meanwhile, surface-conducted electron-emitting displays probably will skip CES.
LG Electronics will pimp its first-to-market hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-ray player (NEC has a competing device in the works). But most rivals will offer players focused on one format or the other. Warner Bros. alternative solution to the format war? It will introduce Total HD disks that will work in both types of player.
Microvision's tiny, inch-square projector, which could turn up in cell phones is also generating buzz.
Phones
Smartphones like LG's 3G Shine will vie for attention with older models heading to new networks, such as Motorola's Q, likely to get the Sprint imprimatur next week. Then there's the HTC Athena, part of a new wave of hideously expensive phone-laptop convergence devices, leading the charge for Microsoft's UMPC crusade.
Wireless
"There'll be Wi-Fi everywhere," said CES' Dunion, outlining the growing links between content companies and electronics manufacturers. "Looking into our crystal ball, we'll definitely see more of the concept of convergence."
The 802.11n draft specifications will be liberally interpreted by new routers, with Ruckus Wireless' Smart Wi-Fi system and ZyXel's latest Mimo-N seeking to exceed the unratified standard.
I wonder how many times Windows will crash during his keynote this time? When he showcased XP media center in January '05, he suffered three blue screens
.
I use mac's, but I wouldn't have a job without the problems of Windows! :cheers:
- Suneet
