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In an attempt to help your FM transmitter "blend into your car's dashboard," Green House has produced and released a pretty simple FM transmitter that looks like a shift-knob. It plugs into the standard 12V DC power outlet and includes an audio jack for plugging in an MP3 player and a USB port for charging supported devices. The real hilarious hijinks come when you accidentally try to aggressively shift with this device and tear the hell out of your dash. That, or you put it in a vehicle with a "three on the tree" and confuse the hell out of the driver. We can already imagine the LOLs. [ CG ]
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Using an iPod or iPhone in a car is going to be that much easier thanks to the latest round of goods from Griffin Technology . The WindowSeat is an oddly named, but simple gadget. It's a suction windshield mount for the iPhone or iPod Touch. If the next generation iPhone gets some legitimate GPS, this will be a nice $30 accessory to have. The other new goody is the iTrip AutoPilot. The AutoPilot is a glorified FM transmitter and charger for the iPod that connects via the standard dock connection of almost every iPod and will broadcast tunes over FM. It includes a 12V DC adapter with play, pause, forward and backward controls for the iPod or iPhone. It also includes a SmartScan feature to find the best FM station for transmission and has SmartSound Plus technology for clearer sound. The iTrip AutoPilot is available for $100. [ iTrip AutoPilot ; WindowSeat ]
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Toyota has recently announced a partnership with iBiquity, which will put HD Radio systems in a variety of Scion vehicles. What makes this partnership even funnier is the PR-speak Toyota used to announce the partnership. "Since Scion customers are in tune with audio technology, it makes sense that we enhance our already outstanding audio offerings for them," said Jason Adang, Accessory Audio and Electronics Planning Manager, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "Digital HD Radio technology is ideal for our youthful, tech-savvy customers who will enjoy the wide range of content available on HD Radio channels." Toyota hasn't gotten that hint that HD Radio is floundering, big time. This whole marketing thing is pretty new to Scion, as well . Despite HD Radio's recent attempts to revitalize its name, the fact of the matter is that HD Radio is a niche that nobody wants to explore, especially the youth-demographic that Scion desperately wants. Oh, and the last time we...
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I know, I know, you were jealous of Europe and especially its Toyota Yaris with dockable TomTom GPS navigation head unit. You can breath a sigh of relief because Eclipse has taken that idea and made it available for anybody! Hooray! The Eclipse AVN2210p MK II allows for a TomTom GPS navigation unit to dock in and out of the head unit. This is extra-convenient for regular swapping of cars and for those that like to do a little walking with a GPS unit. The unit also includes a CD player with MP3 support, Bluetooth and more. It's available from Crutchfield for $600. [ Crutchfield via Uncrate ]
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A recent NPD Group and CEA study showed that car stereo sales and other car audio equipment had a steep decline in the fourth quarter of 2007. Single CD players dropped 4 percent, amplifiers dropped 21 percent, subwoofers dropped 18 percent and speakers dropped 8 percent--all compared to the same quarter in 2006. Kenwood seems to think it was the gas prices and weather, but in all reality I think it is because aftermarket car audio is slowly becoming obsolete. Hit the jump for a poll. I certainly don't buy aftermarket audio equipment anymore and I'm curious about you. Most new cars include enough options for in-car entertainment and information including personal navigation systems and more. Also, the current model of in car systems don't utilize the previously universal rectangular deck space in favor of other designs that are less convenient to install. I hate to say it, but as much as I enjoy my regular Crutchfield as bathroom reading material, aftermarket audio may be experiencing...
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