The iDA-X305S is one of the first car stereos to interface with the Pandora iPhone app.
(Credit: Alpine)Regular readers of the CNET Car Tech Blog will likely be familiar with the Alpine iDA-X305, one of our favorite car stereos for iPod users that distinguishes itself by completely omitting a CD drive. Besides adding an "S" to the end of its model name, the new iDA-X305S is, predictably, an evolution of the previous model, adding Pandora Internet Radio support to the mix.
The iDA-X305S is able to control the Pandora app on a connected iPhone 3G or 3GS, streaming your user-created radio stations over a 3G data connection and out of your vehicle's speakers. Users should be able to log in and access all of the Pandora app's functions using the X305S' 2.2-inch color display and double-action rotary encoder knob, including viewing album artwork and track metadata, changing stations, skipping tracks, giving a song the thumbs up and down, and bookmarking songs for later access.
Using the iPhone's 3G connection is ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
Pioneer drops the CD drive with its MVH line of receivers.
(Credit: Pioneer)LAS VEGAS--Pioneer is taking steps into a segment of the car audio market that up until now has been monopolized by Alpine, with its first ever mech-free receivers, the MVH-P8200 and the MVH-P8200BT.
The V in MVH means these receivers can play back video.
(Credit: Pioneer)Tossing out the often-unused CD drive, the single-DIN MVH-P8200 has no moving parts--hence the designation "mech-free." The receiver was designed to work best with Apple's iPhone and iPod, but it should play back MP3, WMA, and iTunes AAC music files via USB and SD memory card. The USB port is located directly on the front face of the receivers and the SD memory card slot is located behind the removable front face.
In the case of the P8200BT, A2DP Bluetooth stereo audio-streaming and hands-free calling are also added as audio sources. Users can browse their media libraries on the P8200's 3-inch color TFT display using Pioneer's seven-way rotary encoder, which is a knob-joystick-button ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
(Credit:
General Motors)
Updated: CNET video added.
The Chevrolet Volt hasn't even hit the sales floor yet and there's already an app for that. On Tuesday evening, Chevrolet and its OnStar telematics system announced working smartphone apps for the Motorola Droid, Apple iPhone, and BlackBerry Storm that will allow Volt owners to connect to their vehicles wirelessly to access remote features via smartphone.
The Chevrolet Volt OnStar smartphone app will let users know if the Volt is plugged in or not and whether it's charging on 120V or 240V. Users can also schedule charging times to get the lowest off-peak rates and "Charge Now" if they need a quick boost. Users can even remotely start the Volt to preheat or cool the cabin while plugged in to preserve a bit of EV range. Of course, battery charge level and gasoline and electric ranges will also be accessible using the app, as well as displays of ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
BMW's M Power app is actually quite useful.
(Credit: BMW)BMW has launched the M Power iPhone app, the Bavarian automaker's second free application to promote its brand. However, unlike its previous offering, this app is actually sort of useful.
The M Power app measures vehicle acceleration using your iPhone's (or iPod Touch's) built-in accelerometer. After securing the iPhone (via a windshield mount or just tossing it in a cup holder), the app will measure 0-60 mph times other user-customizable speeds in mph or kph. The app will also measure forward and lateral G-forces for users who want to take a spin on a skidpad. Users can also unlock different skins on BMW's Web site to customize the look and feel of the app.
Although branded with the BMW M badge, the M Power app will work for any car that you can fit an iPhone into. Unlike my favorite paid iPhone accelerometer-based speed computer, Dynolicious, BMW's app doesn't look like it will calculate your vehicle's horsepower or torque. But at the low cost of "free," the M Power app is a hard bargain to turn down.
Check out the BMW M Power app in the iTunes App Store.
If you've been wanting to test-drive an iPhone navigation app but didn't want to invest $34.99 on CoPilot Live, $49.99 on TomTom U.S.A., or $59.99 MobileNavigator, here's good news: Now you can get Gokivo GPS Navigator for just 99 cents (iTunes link).
Just to clarify, that 99 cents buys you 30 days' worth of navigation (complete with real-time traffic). After that, Gokivo will cost you $4.99 per month or $39.99 if you pay annually (a considerable savings).
It will cost you more over the long haul than a flat-rate app like CoPilot or MobileNavigator, but Gokivo might be a more attractive option for infrequent drivers--since there's no contract, no commitment.
If you're like me and only occasionally need turn-by-turn navigation assistance, you can, literally, pay as you go. Gokivo now supports in-app transactions, so if you're leaving for a road trip or happen to get lost somewhere, just tap out $4.99 and presto: You've got another month of GPS.
If you want to learn about the app's navigation acumen, read Dong Ngo's recent comparison of Gokivo and MapQuest (another subscription-based solution).
But I think with an entry point of just 99 cents and the option of paying five bucks whenever you want 30 days of traffic-enhanced navigation, Gokivo is hard to beat.
What's your favorite GPS app? Do you prefer the flat-rate offerings or a subscription option like this one? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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.
(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.
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The Coordinates feature makes longitude and latitude coordinates a destination that can be sent to others via e-mail.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)If you haven't purchased a GPS app for your iPhone 3G(S), now's a great time to do it. Wednesday, TomTom slashed the price of its app to just $50, and today Navigon followed suite with a price reduction and more.
The company released the fourth major upgrade to its iPhone navigation app, the MobileNavigator. Version 1.3 added essential features such as Live Traffic; version 1.4 adds features that, though not essential, significantly enhance the navigation experience with the app.
Navigon's iPod Mode now has a very well-thought-out Audiobook mode.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)Among the new features, my favorites are the Audiobook Mode, Direct Help, and Coordinates. I tried them out and found them to be very useful.
Originally, Navigon was one of the first iPhone GPS apps to offer iPod control features within its GPS app, which allows users to control their music playback without having to exit out of the app. Now with the Audiobook Mode, this feature automatically rewinds a second of the book while the audio-driving instructions are given and resumes playing when the instructions stop.
Direct Help allows users to quickly access local help in an emergency situation. It comes with four predefined categories, including roadside assistance, police station, hospital, and pharmacy. Though you will, of course, wish you would never have to use it, this could be a life saver when you are in an unfamiliar area.
The Coordinates feature uses precise longitude and latitude coordinates as a destination and allows you to send the coordinates via e-mail. The recipient of the e-mail can launch that location either in Google Maps or start navigating to it if he receives the e-mail on an iPhone with the MobileNavigator installed.
The new Direct Help feature could be a life saver in an emergency situation.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)Other than that, the 1.4 upgrade also includes these new features/changes:
- Google Local Search and enhanced pedestrian mode.
- Turn-by-turn route list provides a detailed list of directions, which update automatically during navigation.
- Favorites displayed in map: Destinations marked as favorites by the user are now displayed on the map in a named flag icon.
- Swipe screen integration for traffic messages: Users can now browse Traffic Live messages with the flick of a finger.
- Contacts as interim destinations: One-tap sets contacts as an interim destination. Using contact groups in the phone book as interim destinations is now also possible.
- GPS display enhancements: If the iPhone GPS signal becomes too weak during navigation, indicated by a red bar on the top of the display, MobileNavigator now calculates the approximate position and shows the estimated position in the map to provide better orientation. Active route guidance remains switched off but continues normal navigation until a valid signal is available.
- 3D map zooming: Users can zoom in on the map section, both in the 2D and 3D displays, using the iPhone's fingertip control.
- Country information: When the user crosses a country border, this points out the country's most important traffic regulations, such as the maximum permissible speeds or alcohol limits.
The best thing about this new update, however, is the fact that Navigon, for a limited time from now until January 11, has reduced the price of the app to just $60, down from the regular $90.
With this update, Navigon's MobileNavigator is now by far the most comprehensive GPS navigation application for the iPhone. I can't think of any features any other similar apps offer that it doesn't.
The 1.4 update is available now via the App Store. Make sure you use a broadband connection to download it as it's about 1.5GB in size.
TomTom's fully featured navigation app is on sale for $49.99.
It's already getting cutthroat in the young world of iPhone navigation apps. Facing increased pressure from the likes of ALK, which recently dropped its CoPilot Live North America app to $19.99, TomTom just slashed the price of its eponymous navigation app by 50 percent.
Well, kind of. The new TomTom U.S.A. app ($49.99) provides maps for just the U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico). Missing from the picture: Canada. That's probably fine for most drivers, who'd rather not pay for unneeded extra maps anyway.
Of course, if you do need the top half of North America, you can still buy TomTom U.S. & Canada--now priced at $69.99, down from $99.99 when it debuted just a few months ago.
According to TomTom, $49.99 is an "introductory" price good until December 28. But will the company actually raise it in 2010, or leave it alone to stave off increasing competition from the likes of iGo My Way, Magellan RoadMate, and MobileNavigator?
We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, there's never been a better time to buy a GPS app for your iPhone. And in case you're wondering, CoPilot Live is still on sale (though now it's up to $24.99).
