(Credit:
Kenwood)
LAS VEGAS--Yet another car audio manufacturer is testing out the CD-less lifestyle, as Kenwood announces its KIV-BT900 digital car audio receiver. Apparently, people don't just don't use discs anymore.
The KIV-BT900 drops its CD drive like a hot potato, instead focusing its attention on handling digital audio and video from USB-connected portable media players. Named among the supported devices are the iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Zune. USB mass storage devices are also supported for a variety of audio (MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV), picture (JPEG and BMP), and video (MPEG4, WMV and H.264) formats.
When the vehicle is parked, the KIV-BT900 displays its menus, song data, album artwork, and video content on a 3-inch color TFT display. The KIV can also play back video while the vehicle is in motion, but only to an external monitor through its rear video output. Speaking of expandability, a trio of 4-volt preamp outputs allows for the addition of external amplification.
The BT in KIV-BT900 stands for Bluetooth, as the KIV-BT900 features Bluetooth wireless ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
We usually enjoy test driving the various Mercedes-Benz cars we get in at CNET headquarters, but the 2010 C350 that recently arrived was the exception. Although the C-class can be a comfortable cruiser and highly competent in the corners, this one was minimally optioned, making us long for the smaller-engine C300 we had tested previously. Lacking a navigation system, the included iPod integration kit had a horrible interface. And without that Harmon Kardon audio upgrade, the sound quality was mediocre. Our car did sport good-looking AMG wheels, but we would much rather have had decent cabin tech.
The painted grille and bulging fenders of the new Suzuki Kizashi give it an aggressive look. With tail pipes integrated into the rear bumper, you might think this is a new sport-luxury driver. But no, it is just another midsize sedan in a crowded market, with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood. It does include a well-equipped cabin, with standard Bluetooth phone support, iPod integration, and a thumping Rockford Fosgate audio system.
The XM SkyDock is among the 2010 CES Innovation Award Honorees.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)The Consumer Electronics Association has named its 2010 Best of Innovations award winners. Among them is the XM SkyDock, an iPhone/iPod Touch XM Radio tuner.
In our recent review of the XM SkyDock, we found that its ease of installation and use and, to some degree, portability made it a good choice for iPhone users who want to add XM Radio to their vehicles without the complication and expense of a permanent installation. However, we weren't thrilled with the fact that the SkyDock didn't continue to stream while, for example, navigating.
The XM SkyDock joins other in-vehicle technologies honored in the 2010 CES Innovation Awards, such as Ford's Work Solutions in-dash computer, a new Rand-McNally GPS device, and Audiovox's Flo TV system.
The SRX name may not be new at Cadillac, but the car wearing it certainly is. The 2010 SRX is radically redesigned from earlier versions, opting for a more carlike suspension, while retaining a five-passenger SUV-like body. Borrowing much from the CTS sedan, the SRX has angular design cues around its body, and a very modern cabin tech suite, anchored by a very good navigation system. Power comes from a direct injection 3-liter V-6.
(Credit:
Magellan)
Following the launch of its turn-by-turn navigation app for iPhone, Magellan has released its Premium Car Kit for iPhone and iPod Touch. The Premium Car Kit features an amplified speaker for spoken directions, a Bluetooth speakerphone for hands-free calling, a built-in GPS receiver that should improve positioning compared with the iPhone 3G's built-in GPS as well as adds GPS positioning to first-generation iPhones and the iPod Touches.
The mount lets you rotate the iPhone to portrait and landscape views, and has a built-in charger. Essentially, it will behave exactly like TomTom's Car Kit; however, the Magellan kit has an adjusting arm that will let it accommodate an iPhone or iPod Touch with a protective case.
The Magellan Premium Car Kit will cost $129.99. When TomTom's kit debuted for slightly less than that price, it was universally regarded as too expensive, so we can already guess what sort of reception Magellan's kit will get.
Magellan's Premium Car Kit for iPhone is available now for preorder.
The Need for Speed series returns to the iPhone with NFS:Shift.
(Credit: Screenshot by Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
EA Mobile has released the second iPhone game in the Need for Speed series: Need for Speed Shift.
You may remember that we took a look at Need for Speed Undercover not too long ago and found it was a fun, arcadelike take on racing with a decent number of fully customizable vehicles. Shift is an evolution of that game but with more realistic racing physics in place of the hokey storyline. Also new to Shift are customizable racing views. Users can now select between chase-cam, hood-cam, bumper-cam, and cockpit views. The cockpit view is unique to the vehicle you're driving, but unfortunately there are no working gauges. The cockpit view is also the only view that features damage modeling in the form of a windshield that gets more messed up the as you hit things.
This Nissan Z features an accurate interior, but no working gauges.
(Credit: Screenshot by Antuan Goodwin/CNET)On your first outing with Shift, you'll be treated to a quick tutorial that teaches you how to drive with an iPhone. Shift pretty much plays like Undercover, but with a few key differences. Its steering is still controlled by tilting. The vehicles still auto-accelerate and brake when the screen is tapped. However, the race-breaker, slow-motion feature is gone and the controls are supposedly more realistic. In practice, this means that you can no longer win races without touching the brakes and that the transmission is now manual, which can be frustrating for novice users who just want to drive.
Fortunately, there are driver aids that can be activated that automatically brake and shift for you and assist steering that make your ham-fisted inputs smoother and more accurate. Users who want an easy to play, arcade-style racer can turn on the driving aids and win a few medals on the bus ride to work; and users who want more of a racing-sim experience can set all systems to manual for more control over the game. Driving aids or not, drifting is maddeningly difficult this time around. I prefer the drifting mechanics of Undercover.
... Read More
The Bentley Continental Supersports is the fastest car Bentley makes.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
OK, we are going to get something out of the way from the beginning. The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports may be the most extreme example of sport luxury available today, putting mere BMWs to shame, but its navigation system is terrible. The maps are very low resolution and, stored on a DVD, are slow to refresh and calculate routes. This navigation system lacks all but the most basic features, with no external data feeds or text to speech. It really doesn't belong in this car.
Let that rest as our main criticism so we can get to the good stuff, which is just about everything else.
Bentley has offered several variations of its Continental coupe since its introduction in 2003, but the Supersports model exhibits the purest level of performance. Bentley tweaked the already massive engine for more power, fitted wheels with big carbon ceramic brakes, and shed 243 pounds of weight, most notably by removing the rear seat.
And you really don't want a rear seat in this car, as you would resent any passengers back there for being a drag on performance, while they would unfriend you on Facebook for being relegated to such cramped quarters.
With its coupe design, the Bentley Continental Supersports cuts a nice profile.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)We were actually a little surprised at the manageable size of this car, making it easy to maneuver through parking garages and dense urban streets. Despite its smallish size, the body is a head-turner, with external lighting nicely molded into the body and the signature wire Bentley grille. The glossy black 20-inch wheels added to this car's unique look.
Of course, the engine also announces the Continental Supersports arrival with a throaty roar. When we pushed the start button, the engine's 12 cylinders began to pump, air was forced into the manifold from twin turbos, and 6 liters of displacement hosted precisely timed explosions that turned the driveshaft with 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque.
This kind of power means you can lightly tap the gas pedal and find yourself far ahead of the pack of traffic sitting back there at the light, the drivers just putting their cell phones down so they can get back to the business of driving. Put the gas down a little harder and you push up to freeway speeds, the car showing very little effort. Introduce the pedal to the floor and you've begun a career in amateur rocketry.
... Read MoreOn Sale Now:
$273,295.00
View the latest prices for 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports
Driving enthusiasts and long-time city dwellers scoff at automatic parallel parking systems, but when it works as well as the one in the Lincoln MKS, well, you just have to marvel at the technology. This new MKS not only has the excellent cabin tech and luxury appointments of the previous year's model, but Lincoln added new tech features, such as the parking system, to really put this car over the top. Couple all that with the new Ecoboost engine, and it's a near technological masterpiece.
Lincoln's new MK naming convention may seem a little austere, but the luxury and tech in the new MKT is anything but. When you spend some time driving a car, and find you don't want to get out of it at the end of the journey, that speaks well for the car's comfort. We could hardly get enough of the MKT's THX audio system, the automatic high beams, and the adaptive cruise control. It is a little thirsty for our tastes, but 355 horsepower from the Ecoboost engine makes this cruiser get up and go.
