With all the talk about enjoying car audio through various mediums, the Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner should be something worth noting. It provides more choices and crystal clear sound that should let you enjoy AM/FM radio stations with clarity. It has 20 preset stations, clear and static-free radio stations with no monthly fees to worry about. Additionally, it comes with an audio jack and a fully functional remote control that should deliver the quality in-car entertainment to complement your car.

Price: $82.99

(Source) Amazon

Now this is the kind of thing they banned briefly in Victoria not so long ago, so before I start I’ll give the normal credos:  it’s a bad idea to use your cell phone and drive at the same time, I’m not responsible for whatever you do in your car, yadda yadda, in perpetuity throughout the universe.

There.  Now that the lawyers have been sufficiently shot the bird, time to carry on.  Today we’re talking about the TomTom iPhone car kit, that basically allows you to use your iPhone as a kind of GPS by mounting it to your dash.  Now, it doesn’t JUST do that, because then everybody’d be enraged–it also functions as a twelve volt charger and a speakerphone.

None of this is a bad thing, necessarily, but for crying out loud.  A hundred and twenty bucks for what amounts to a car phone cradle?  That’s a bit excessive even with the added bells and whistles.  I don’t look for this one to do any too well.

We’re all familiar with the ZipCar by now, that car rental line that offers driving freedom to urbanites who don’t want to bother with the hassles that come with owning a car.  But what you may not be aware of is that, if you have an iPhone, you’ve just opened up the entire world of ZipCar.

iPhone users will now be able to lock and unlock ZipCar car doors remotely with their iPhones, as well as start their engines remotely.  Plus you can even locate and reserve a particular car from the ZipCar lineup with your iPhone.

Seems that one third of all ZipCar customers use iPhones for one purpose or another, and so, offering iPhone connectivity represented a significant advantage to ZipCar users.  This in turn helps fuel brand loyalty.

It’s a smart idea for the ZipCar company, and if you’re an iPhone user who’s looking for a rental car, ZipCar may just be your ticket after all.

This may be the weirdest piece of news I’ve been able to put out in a long time; while car sales are falling off in virtually every category, there’s a bright spot in the car market–after market parts sales.

Things like car stereos, in-car video, car speakers and other such items look to top well over nine billion dollars in total sales this year.

And frankly, this makes a whole lot of sense.  Given that the car sales market is falling off, people are looking to make their old car last longer and run better and be just plain old more enjoyable.  So they’re looking at better stereos and navigational gear and all these new and interesting gadgets designed to improve the quality of life in the car.

Since fewer and fewer are looking to buy, more and more are looking to keep, and keeping means a brisk market for improvements.

Now here’s a strange one for you, folks–a downright puzzler, in fact.  What would you say if I told you about a car stereo that’s controlled by your iPod?  You’d say I already told you about that, because it’s in the headline.  But now, I’m going to tell you all about it–the Parrot car stereo system.

Not only will the Parrot offer docking for the iPod and the iPhone, but it’ll also allow you to run your playlist through the stereo and use it like an external speaker array.  If you use your iPhone with it, you’ll get an easy to use hands-free operation device for the phone, and with the cops breathing down everyone’s neck waiting to write a ticket if you so much as LOOK like texting your BFF Jill, this could be just the thing to keep you connected while you drive.

Best part?  This beauty can be bought direct from the company for about four hundred bucks.  If you’re in the market for a new car stereo and can’t live without your Mac gear, then this may just be the stereo you’ve wanted all your life.

Car owners who are eager to upgrade their car audio systems are going to love this new in-dash Blu-ray player from Panasonic. Panasonic has officially released the first car in-dash Blu-ray player, the CY-BB1000D. The release of this latest in-dash Blu-ray player coincides with the release of three new Strada-branded car navigation systems which includes the CN-HX3000D for the Japan market.

The Panasonic CY-BB1000D carries the following features:

• HDMI port
• SD card
• AVCHD and AVREC support

As for the CN-HX3000D, it is highlighted by a 7” LCD screen and an HDMI port as well that allows lucky owners to enjoy HD video content right inside their vehicle.

The CY-BB100D Blu-ray Player retails for 99,750 JPY while the CN-HX3000D navigation device costs 365,400 JPY.

(Source) Aving

What you see above is a recently leaked picture of the latest and greatest Honda CR-V which has yet to make its wordwide debut. Luckily, to accompany the pictures our sources have discovered that Honda is set to showcase their brand new CR-V on September 17th that this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

We’ll keep you posted so don’t forget to check back, got it?

via autoexpress

People who are planning and scheduling to get an Audi any time soon will be in for a treat. Aside from driving out their new car, they will have a three-month trial offer for “Sirius Everything” package. SIRIUS will be included as standard equipment in key models that include the A3, A4, A5, A6, A8 and R8 models as well as the Audi Q7 and Q5 models.

SIRIUS XM Radio is America’s satellite radio company delivering to subscribers commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, and traffic and weather.

(Source) Press

Harman International has made good its promise to stay on top as the leader in automotive entertainment as it reports a successive launch of 13 major audio and infotainment platforms for the automotive industry. The list of car enhancements include custom in-car audio, navigation, hands-free communication and driver assist technologies.

Among the brands that have benefitted from this massive effort include marquee car brands like Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Hyundai, Mercedes, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Ssangyong.

continue reading "Harman International Launches Audio and Infotainment Platforms for Automobiles"

Car audio setup addicts can look forward to a new brand in the market, Brookly Audio, which boasts of high quality audio paraphernalia at affordable rates. Among the usual car audio equipment you have include the usual amplifiers, LCD monitors and subwoofers. As you can see, these are the more common audio equipment that people install these days to rev up their cars as far as audio entertainment is concerned.

And with competitive prices, expect this new line to be among the future brands we see in the market. The timing couldn’t have been better considering people today are trying to tighten their belts. With great prices on acclaimed high quality car audio peripherals, expect Brooklyn Audio to slowly creep into the leaders in the car audio industry today.

(Source) Press

It seems that the inevitable has happened – energy efficient vehicles are taking over the world. Japan in particular, due to high gas prices (around $4.50 a gallon) and tax breaks on hybrid vehicles, has proven itself to be the most prominent hybrid vehicle market in the world.

According to AutoBlogGreen, in June alone, Toyota sold 22,292 Prius’ while Honda sold 8,782 Insights, both hybrid vehicles. This apparantly ousts America’s number of 26,205 hybrids sold in the same amount of time.

And, just as a fun fact, there is apparantly a 7-month waiting list for Toyota’s upcoming 2010 Prius.

The Bang & Olufsen Sound System will be available for the new Audi A5 Sportback. Designed specially to complement the sporty personality of the spacious 5-door coupe and ensure a flawless listening experience, the system contains 14 speakers equipped at different parts of the car.  The Audi A5 Sportback also plays DVD-Video and comes with a 10GB Jukebox, CD/DVD player and a 7-inch high resolution wide screen.

Furthermore, the company’s patented True Image technology turns 2- and 5.1-channel signals into 7.1-channel surround sound which will absolutely enhance your driving experience. Bang & Olufsen’s car audio systems are recognized for their technology and design and this new system for the Audi A5 Sportback is certainly no exception.

Ford, together with Microsoft, first announced their Sync system a few years ago and the system made its debut on the 2008 Ford Focus. Ever since its debut Sync has been offered in just about every Ford, Mercury and Lincoln model.

Well, Ford and Sync have come a long way as the automaker has recently stated that they have shipped their 1 millionth vehicle that was equipped with Sync. In fact, the millionth vehicle was given to Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, as a gift.

Futhermore, Ford also says that they have updated Sync’s software so that it can now check the weather, breaking news events, traffic reports and turn-by-turn navigation. Ford currently only offers the Sync system in English, Spanish and French but hope to expand it to German, Mandarin, Arabic, Italian, Dutch and Russian in an attempt to expand their market share.

It’s nice to see at least one US automaker is doing good in these tough economic times.

Read (KickingTires)

Here is a contest you may be interested in. A partnership by Microsoft Zune and Funkmaster Flex will give one lucky winner an opportunity to win a customized 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The vehicle is a dream for techie freaks. Imagine a vehicle loaded with perks like a Zune media player or even an Xbox, PC computer, and the Sprint wireless AirCard? All these perks give the comfort of a dream vehicle on wheels.

Among the features of the Zune 2008 Ford Sport Trac include:

• A custom Zune display mount connecting to trailer hitch to display Kicker Zune player
• Xbox 360
• PC computer powered by Microsoft Windows XP mounted in center console
• Internet on the go with Sprint wireless AirCard
• TV on the go with Slingbox
• Wireless keyboard and mouse
• Two 7″ headrest monitors featuring built-in DVD player
• One 10″ flip-down monitor with VGA input
• One converted factory screen to display movies, computer, and Xbox 360 in-dash
• 8″ and 6.5″ Kicker speakers in front doors, with custom fiberglass pod
• 6.5″ Kicker components in rear doors
• Four 8″ Kicker subs behind rear seats, installed in a custom sub box
• Two Kicker amps

So rather than install them individually and spend tons of money while you are at it, here is a dream contest where you can get all of it for free! Entries can be submitted until 8/31/09 on the contest homepage.

(Source) Press

Pioneer DEH-P7100BT

The Pioneer DEH-P7100BT has lots of features to enhance your music needs in the car. Audio system connectivity with a single iPod is so last year, but this one lets you connect two iPods allowing you access to even more songs, or it would allow the passenger plug in his/her iPod too.

It also has HD Radio, Bluetooth for hands-free mobile phone usage, USB ports and sleek looks. This unit also supports iTunes tagging for FM radio, so if you like a song, just tag it and it will be ready for you to download once you’ve connected to the iTunes store. Retails for around $340.00