Best in-car tech of 2007
You don't need a new car to breathe new life into your driving experience. Just load up your existing ride with a multimedia entertainment system, an iPod-friendly stereo, or a GPS-capable head unit. This in-car tech burned serious rubber this year.
The Harman Kardon Drive + Play 2 is a stylish and functional aid for playing digital music in the car. Its iPod compatibility and dynamic channel creation function really separate it from the pack, but it doesn't come cheap.
Aside from some usability niggles resulting from its compact size, the JVC KD-NX5000 offers about as many car tech features per square foot as you can get.
The made-for-iPod Alpine iDA-X001 is a useful interface for bringing a digital-music library on the road. We like its stylish design and breadth of functions, although its user interface is not as intuitive as that of the iPod itself.
The innovative Eclipse AVN2210p has many attractive features, including an intuitive navigation system, a great Bluetooth calling interface, and USB connectivity for digital audio. While it has a few usability issues, this system is tough to beat for its price.
The JVC KD-HDR1 in-car stereo delivers HD Radio and most other digital-audio playback options for a very competitive price.
The Panasonic Strada CN-NVD905U is a stylish, user-friendly entrant to the in-dash navigation market. It combines decent GPS navigation with a broad range of media playback options making it a strong contender in the in-dash all-in-one segment.
The Blaupunkt Velocity 2Go 6 works well as a powered subwoofer mounted in a car. It can also be used as a portable speaker set for an iPod or an MP3 player, making it a flexible solution for your mobile audio needs.
The Jensen MP66312i provides an impressive range of media inputs, standard Bluetooth connectivity, and a usable iPod interface. Don't let its low-rent display put you off: this is one feature-packed, budget-friendly deck.
