November 02, 2005, 4:54 PM PST
Don't steal my MP3s
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Sony's come up with a novel use for an antitheft removable car stereo faceplate: MP3 storage. The MEX-1GP stereo head unit, on display at SEMA, does everything you would expect from a modern car stereo, such as play MP3 and WMA files off CD-R/RWs, but it also includes a gigabyte of storage in the removeable faceplate. Hook the faceplate up to a PC via its USB connector, and you can drop your music on to it. Then take it out to the car and you can navigate the stored files from the stereo head unit interface. Typically, 1GB holds about 500 songs, so the unit will carry most people through a road trip. I assume other types of data could be loaded onto the faceplate, which should please any Johnny Mnemonic-style data smugglers. The MEX-1GP will be released in February 2006, at a price of approximately $350.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 4:51 PM PST
Hello, this is your stereo calling
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Convergence is all the rage in car technology with navigation units including media playback and stereo units playing DVDs and showing navigation. Parrot, maker of the EasyDrive and other Bluetooth car kits, jumped into the fray at SEMA with the release of its Rhythm N' Blue stereo head unit with Bluetooth phone integration. The stereo itself is fairly standard, with AM, FM, CD, and MP3 playback. The unit displays ID3-tag information from MP3s and pumps out a modest 45 watts through four channels. But the cell phone integration sets it apart. It will load your phone's address book and includes a keypad on its interface for dialing numbers. It also has voice recognition so that you don't even have to touch the interface to make or answer a call. Because it's integrated with the head unit, music volume is automatically muted when a call comes in or when you dial. Caller ID is even displayed on the unit. The Rhythm N' Blue should be released by early 2006 at a price equivalent to that of other head units in its class.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 1:55 PM PST
GPS traffic pileup
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Although it's just starting to roll out in the United States, navigation systems that can recognize traffic congestion and route around it promises to be the killer app for commuters. At SEMA, I saw two of the big names in portable navigation, Magellan and Garmin, and their traffic-routing capabilities. Garmin offers either an XM satellite hookup or Clear Channel traffic reporting. Both services feed data into the navigation unit that shows whether there are traffic problems up ahead. The navigation unit can dynamically route around the congestion. Magellan hasn't signed up a service provider in the States yet, but it does have traffic reporting in Europe. The Magellan unit displays icons on its map that show what sort of traffic problems lie ahead. Magellan should have traffic reporting available in the United States by early next year.

Traffic routing has great potential, not least of all in ending frustrating hours of sitting in traffic. Fewer cars stuck in gridlock is also better for the environment, as the cars won't be stopped idling and emitting polutants. That lack of long periods of idling and stop-and-go traffic means less wear on the cars. Also, people get to work faster, and delivery trucks don't get stuck in that same traffic, which is all good for the economy. Of course, the negative side is that formerly quiet roads suddenly see an increase in traffic, and cities have to install more stop signs and traffic lights.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 1:54 PM PST
Linux car computer
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Windows is the OS of choice in most car computers I've seen, but MimoUSA is developing a unit that runs on Linux. Not a household name, MimoUSA makes a wide range of aftermarket car equipment such as LCDs, HID headlight kits, and even stereo head units. Its Mobile Car Computer, on display at SEMA, isn't a particularly flashy unit. It's a single-DIN-form-factor black case, and the dashboard end has a DVD/CD slot, two USB ports, and assorted audio jacks. The lack of controls on the case means you would also need to hook up a touch-screen display and possibly a keyboard. To keep the heat low, the unit uses a CPU with processing power equivalent to a 700MHz Pentium running Linux, because the hardware is too limited to run Windows XP. MimoUSA developed a custom UI, which keeps the applications you would want in a car easily accessible. Besides the usual mobile applications such as navigation and MP3 playback, the company is betting most of the unit's functionality on an Internet connection. It has a slot for a GPRS card along with built-in Wi-Fi, and 3G will be added as networks become available in the Unite States. Although satellite radio could be added, an Internet connection would mean streaming music from the multitude of Internet radio stations, not to mention VoIP calls and remote surveillance of your car. Of course, Wi-Fi and GPRS aren't really capable of supporting all this Internet activity with any quality, but 3G might change the picture. The unit is under development and is expected to be released by the end of the year.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 1:40 PM PST
New DVR software
Posted by: Dan Ackerman

We've been thinking a lot lately about media center front-end programs, from Windows Media Center Edition to BeyondTV. In fact, CNET has a new Insider Secrets feature that outlines all the steps for integrating a PC into your home theater, including a detailed look at some of these media management apps.

One program we didn't talk about was SageTV. The long-standing DVR program has just released a new version, SageTV 4 and added a host of new features, such as over-the-air HDTV and support for ASF, WMA, or WMV file formats. You can also add the SageTV Client software to easily access recorded media on other computers on your network. Another interesting feature is the inclusion of the SageTV Studio development kit, which lets enterprising programmers write their own plug-ins and add new functionality to the software.

On a completely separate topic, we spent some time last week at the Austin Game Conference, an annual games industry gathering skewed more toward developers and programmers than PR types and press. Some interesting observations from the show floor include the strong emphasis on so-called casual gaming, which could translate into less demand for high-powered PC components, and the different messages put out by ATI and Nvidia at their respective booths. ATI was playing up Crossfire and its high-end desktop video cards, while Nvidia was mainly interested in talking about chips for mobile devices.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Desktops
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 11:00 AM PST
The on-car TV antenna slims down
Posted by: Brian Cooley

You can get satellite TV in your car today, but it requires a huge, ugly antenna on the roof. However, this week at the SEMA show in Las Vegas antenna maker KVH unveiled a low-profile on-car DBS (Dish Network) antenna that hides under a fairly sleek fairing, seen in the center of this picture. Unlike the current antenna partially seen in the foreground, this new low-profile unit would be offered as a factory option by carmakers. None have announced they will integrate it just yet. And look for yet another generation of such antennas next year that should be entirely invisible, wedged between the headliner and the car's roof. Both KVH and competitor RaySat are making thinly veiled references to such products arriving in 2006. That's when carmakers will finally get interested.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 10:49 AM PST
Dockable in-car DVD
Posted by: Brian Cooley

Now this makes sense. At the SEMA show in Vegas this week, Visteon is crowing about its dockable in-car DVD system. It functions as a rear-seat entertainment system when in the car, or you can unlatch the entire unit, and it becomes a standard portable DVD player you can use on a plane, in a hotel room, wherever. This is a system that could address that hesitancy new car buyers have about in-car video systems that tend to be very pricey options, yet are usable only in the car and when you have someone in the backseat who actually wants to watch video. A dockable system such as this delivers many more usage cases for the same amount of investment.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 10:39 AM PST
The new wave in nav
Posted by: Brian Cooley

At the SEMA show in Vegas this week, Pioneer is showing off its next-generation all-in-one head unit: the Z1. It will combine all the usual high-end entertainment options, but what is most interesting is its navigation portion. This unit will run off an internal hard drive as opposed to the usual DVD. That means far richer map displays, interactive POIs, and a system that can learn and and come up with clever route options that take into account distance, posted speed limits, real-time traffic flow, and the kinds of trips you typically make. This will be the new modus operandi for all systems in this class, and you have to imagine that a day is coming when widespread penetration of these systems could radically redistribute traffic flow in our metro areas. The Z1 arrives in spring 2006.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 10:31 AM PST
Visor-mount sat radio
Posted by: Brian Cooley

Xact's XTR3CK Sirius receiver is a plug-and-play unit with a clever mounting option: your sun visor. The included mount can stick on the dash, the windshield, and all the other usual places but also will grip your visor and even has a switch to flip the alphanumeric display upside down so that you can read it when it's visor mounted. It uses a built-in FM transmitter that will tune to any FM frequency, which is becoming par for the course in this sector. The XTR3CK has a scrawny list price of $49.95.

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post

November 02, 2005, 10:20 AM PST
Serious fun lights
Posted by: Brian Cooley

I stared, slack-jawed, at the Varad auto lighting lineup while covering the SEMA show in Vegas this week. I knew about decorative car lighting but didn't know how sophisticated it can be. The reps showed me their latest, the ILS system, which features a stylish mounting strip that contains the lights themselves tied to a CPU-based controller that can do almost anything with the flash pattern or color of the lights. You can set the lights to cycle between 1,000 different colors, tie their operation to your car audio (including a choice of three different "trigger" frequencies), and even get lighting kits that mount to and highlight your suspension. Nutty!

Permalink | Post a comment

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post