CES 2007

Harman Kardon unleashed its nifty Drive+Play 2 for gadget-loving drivers everywhere. With an impressively simple setup (you can hook it up in a couple minutes sans tools), you can have a single interface for everything from your iPod or Zune to your phone or satellite radio. The 3.5-inch color display is easily mountable on your dash with screws or adhesive, and a 2.4GHz wireless control knob lets you navigate the very iPod-like skinnable menu system for "distraction-free browsing."

The system is powered by a cigarette-lighter module that doubles as an FM transmitter, line output, and charging hub. If you don't want to use the FM transmitter, you can just wire the Drive+Play 2 directly to your car stereo. There's also a Harman Net expansion port for adding more stuff, such as a Bluetooth hands-free system.

The software interface is pretty cool too: it automatically creates music channels based on what's on your music player, so you don't have to browse too much while trying to rack up points for running down pedestrians. It drops this spring for $399.95.

Harman Kardon's Guide + Play GPS-500

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Harman Kardon is best known in the automotive world for its audio equipment, but here at CES 2007, the company has taken a leap into the crowded world of portable GPS devices with the unveiling of its Guide + Play GPS-500. Like most portable navigation devices on the market nowadays, the GPS-500 is more than a digital wayfinder: it can play a range of audio (MP3/AAC/WMA) and video (MPEG-4/WMV9) media formats and will even display album artwork in glorious Technicolor. Media is played from a 4GB SD card that slots into the top of the bezel. Maps and movies are displayed on the unit's 4-inch wide-screen touch-screen display, which presents a crisp series of menus for programming navigation or selecting media.

Navigation features include a route simulator (which lets drivers preview a route before setting out) and 2D, 3D, and split-screen views. Harman reps tell us that the device also features text-to-speech technology, which will enable it to read out road names during turn-by-turn voice guidance. The GPS-500 will go on sale sometime in March and will retail for around $500, putting it squarely into competition with the Magellan RoadMate 2200T and the Garmin StreetPilot c550.

An increasing trend in cell phones is the addition of location-based services, such as TeleNav and Verizon's VZ Navigator, so you can get maps and driving directions right on your handset. Now, Motorola has announced that it's teaming up with Destinator Technologies and Jentro Technologies to bring such services to its mobiles, as well as new navigation products in 2007. Jentro specializes in satellite phone navigation, while Destinator develops nav software for mobile devices. Though the companies didn't outline any specific products, they did say the products will give consumers access to local point-of-interest searches, community tools, and other services.

Convergence is the name of the digital game at CES 2007. Music players become phones, phones become GPS devices, and GPS devices become music players. In the latest effort to combine two previously distinct products, JVC Mobile has integrated an 3.5-inch color LCD screen into the faceplate of a in-car stereo head unit to provide drivers with movies, music and directions in one after-market device.

(Credit: JVC Mobile)

The KD-NX5000, on display at CES for the first time, is an impressive product. Its 16GB hard drive-based navigation system contains 13 million points of interest and comes with a built-in RDS-TMC traffic tuner to give drivers real-time traffic information. The system provides turn-by-turn voice guidance, with maps displayed in either 2D or 3D. The unit's display is not a touch screen, so destinations must be entered using hard buttons on the face plate or by using the system's remote control.

Media options include DVD video and MP3-, WMA- and WAV-format digital audio. The remainder of the 40GB hard drive (that's 24GB) is allocated to drivers to create a personal media library. Audiophiles can rip CDs to the hard drive using JVC's Lossless Encoder, which maintains original CD quality, while those wanting to cram in as many songs as possible can store files in compressed format: JVC estimates that the KD-NX5000 has enough capacity for 6,000 songs.

For those who want more connectivity options, the KD-NX5000 can be hooked up to add-on modules for iPod control and Bluetooth hands-free calling. KD-NX5000 will go on sale in February for $999, and the nice man at JVC said that he will be sending out a review unit to CNET in the next couple of weeks.

Mio C520

(Credit: Mio)

On the other end of the spectrum from the C250, Mio has also announced the full-featured Mio C520 portable navigation device. Unlike the C250, the C520 goes beyond turn-by-turn driving directions with integrated Bluetooth for hands-free calling and advanced multimedia capabilities. The stylish device also has a large, 4.3-inch touch screen and a new, useful split-screen view, which presents your current location and a map on one side and allows you to get route information, upcoming points of interest, and address lookup on the other side. All maps are preloaded on the device, and there is an expansion slot built into the device. Unfortunately, there is no text-to-speech functionality, but for what you get, we think the $449 price tag is great. The Mio C520 is expected to ship at the end of Q1 2007.

Mio C250

(Credit: Mio)

Though Mio has recently made a push to market its portable navigation systems as more than GPS devices (for example, the Mio H610), the company is going back to basics with the Mio C250. The entry-level C250 is purely focused on navigation (though it may have the ability to play music; the company is still undecided) and features a 3.5-inch touch screen. Maps of the United States will come preloaded onto an SD card, and additional SD cards with maps of other regions will be available around April. The Mio C250 is expected to ship at the end of the first quarter, for a very affordable $299.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

There are plenty of ways of hooking up an iPod to a car stereo: generic auxiliary input jacks will do the trick (if you're desperate); a connection via USB might transfer some data to the head unit display; while dedicated full-speed iPod harnesses have been the best option to date. Well, now there's a car stereo that's tailor-made for Apple fanboys. The Alpine IDA-X001--getting its debut here at CES 2007--is so iPod-centric that it doesn't even have a CD slot. Instead, it has a USB input to allow drivers to connect digitally to their fifth-generation iPods. The digital connection results in a transfer rate of 480Mbps (as a contrast, Alpine's previous "full-speed" digital-to-analog iPod adapter managed a paltry 19.2 kbps).

(Credit: CNET Networks)

As well as displaying all of the familiar iPod menus in their original fonts (Apple was drafted to consult on the unit's design), the IDA-X001's color LCD screen reproduces full album art in a choice of two sizes. The stereo also features some advanced file-searching capabilities, including searching for song by letter (á la the latest iPods) and a variable-speed scrolling dial. Those technolaggards wishing to connect a previous-generation iPod to the stereo will have to buy the aforementioned full-speed adapter for around $30 and will have to forgo the luxury of digital audio reproduction. The Alpine IDA-X001 goes on sale in April with a healthy price tag of $450.

In all the brouhaha of Sony's announcements on Blu-ray burners and Internet-connected TV, it's easy to miss the real news from the technology giant at CES: the unveiling of four new single-DIN stereo head units. Following the trend to USB inputs we've seen elsewhere, three of Sony's new stereos come with USB 2.0 ports built into the faceplates. Although, unlike new stereos we have seen this week from Pioneer, the Sony players will only play back files from a thumbdrive or from a digital walkman (not from iPods, Zunes, or other digital music players, according to the Sony rep here). The top-of-the-line product in the new lineup is the CDX-GT81UW, which, along with its USB capabitility, plays MP3s, has an auxilliary input jack, and 4-volt front, rear, and sub preamp outputs.

Sony CDX-GT81UW

(Credit: Sony)

Sony CDX-GT610Ui

(Credit: Sony)

The more basic GT710 is similar in appearance (we don't have an image for it--you'll just have to believe us), featuring the same motorized faceplate as the GT81UW, but it comes without either the preamp outputs or the USB port.

Sony CDX-GT410U

(Credit: Sony)

The nonmotorized CDX-GT610Ui offers the most connectivity options: in addition to a USB port and a generic aux-in jack, it comes with a 30-pin iPod connector, transferring all of the iPod's control functions to buttons on the faceplate. The entry-level CDX-GT410U boasts only an aux-input and will not play MP3 discs.

All four of the head units can be connected to separate modules for XM or Satellite radio, and each is compatible with Sony's XA-110IP iPod adapter.

Bye bye Blackbird

(Credit: Alpine Electronics)

The honeymoon of portable and in-dash navigation devices continues here at CES 2007. On Sunday, we brought you news of Eclipse's AVN2210p, and today we had a close-up of Alpine's IVA-W205, which combines with the Blackbird PMD B200 portable GPS unit in a unique way. Instead of requiring drivers to attach the portable unit to the front of the installed cradle, (as per the Eclipse unit), the IVA-W205 actually swallows the portable navigation unit, with the latter slotting in cartridge-like behind the installed unit's fold-up screen. Also new on the PMD B200 is its built-in, Bluetooth, hands-free, calling interface, which has the ability to wirelessly import phone books from cell phones and other mobile devices.

With the Blackbird in place, all its maps, navigation information, and controls are transferred to the IVA-W205 bigger, 6.5-inch touch-screen display. In addition to its navigation capabilities, the IVA-W205 is a versatile multimedia player in its own right: it has all of the media playback capabilities of the IVA-W200 that we reviewed a couple of months ago (DVD video, CD, WMA, MP3; add-on modules for iPod, satellite and HD radio), plus a much-needed update to its add-on Bluetooth module, and some new digital audio capabilities that we have not seen anywhere else.

The most impressive of these is a translator module that connects the head unit to a separate Sirius satellite radio player. With the touch screen hooked up to Sirius, drivers can customize Sirius and music- and sports content down to individual artists and teams. For example, the IVA-W205 can be configured to search all Sirius channels for a user's favorite artist, and to automatically play that music as it is broadcast live. The IVA-W205 will go on sale in May with a price tag of around $1000, excluding the price of the Blackbird, which is sold separately.