Massive Audio Adds to DX Drivers

Massive Audio announced it will ship this summer, additions to its DX line of coaxial OEM replacement car speakers.

It will add shallow mount driver models DX6S, DX69S  in corresponding 6.5 inch and 6 by 9 inch sizes, as well as the DX6 (6.5-inch) component kit at $69.95 and new DX2, DX3, and DX65 models.

All DX series coaxial speakers use heavy gage steel baskets, two-piece custom paintable grills (except the existing DX46 & 57) and high flux Y30 Ferrite magnets.  They also employ Hi Temp 1” ASV voice coils, laminated paper cones with pressed foam surround, polyester fiber cloth spiders and 13mm hard dome tweeters.

The line is rated at 150 to 250 watts peak power handling.

Already shipping are the DX 4, DX 5, DX6, DX46, DX 57 and a 3 way 6×9” co-axial.

The new models are designed to fit shallow mounting spots at budget prices.

Source: Massive Audio

Pioneer Transforms Aftermarket Navigation in Japan

Pioneer announced delivery in Japan this July of its head up display that now adds augmented reality navigation.  A holographic image on the windshield shows the car in real time, photo realistically moving down the road, with information on the next turn.

The system can be mounted on 70 percent of existing cars.  The head up display projector mounts where the sun visor sits on the driver’s side.

Not for penny pinchers, the unit costs the equivalent of about $4,000.   Pioneer showed a scaled down version of the system at CES for the past 2 years, and said that it would eventually come to the U.S. market.  A spokesman in Japan said the product will not come to our shores this year, however,

The device is called “Cyber Navi.”   It can work with a front mounted camera, displaying the image from the camera while superimposing information on it.

The system gives you a 37-inch long color image with a resolution of 720 by 260 pixels. Bluetooth is used to communicate between the head up display (HUD) and the navigation system.

The HUD was developed with U.S.-based MicroVision.  It uses red, green and blue lasers for the light source and MEMS mirrors, said Nikkei Business Publications.

Also, it captures images of speed limit signs and gives the driver an audible alert.

Source: CEoutlook,  Nikkei Business Publications via Engadget

Photo via Engadget

iOnRoad Wins CTIA Wireless E-Tech Award

At the CTIA wireless show this week,  iOnRoad was selected as the E-Tech Award winner in the Automotive, Safe Driving and Transportation category. .

iOnRoad is a driving safety app that uses the smartphone’s native camera and sensors to warn drivers of a potential collision.  It can detect your lane and the cars  in front of your vehicle, so it alerts the driver in time to take action when it detects danger.

It also claims to improve your driving in  real-time using augmented reality feedback of your driving to encourage safe driving habits.

“This CTIA E-Tech award, especially when pitted against so many worthy technology companies, means a lot to the whole iOnRoad team,” said Alon Atsmon, CEO of iOnRoad. “What started as an idea to try to make driving safer has propelled iOnRoad to achieve so much in just the past year since we launched the product, including multiple users who have written to us telling us that iOnRoad saved their lives.”

iOnRoad also won  Gartner’s Top Automotive Vendors CES 2012 showcase award, Best AR Android app for 2011 and Best Israeli app for 2011.

Source: iOnRoad

 

What Geeky Millennials Think About Car Audio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo elicited 2500 comments recently on Reddit-  a popular Internet social site for semi-Geeky Millennials.    So if you want to know what they say about car radios, scroll down a bit into the comments  (skip the first thread about an ’87 Fiero) and click here.  Hint:  They like an aux in jacks.

Source: Reddit

12V Web Radio from HTC

Phone maker HTC released a new video showing its Car Stereo Clip in action.  An HTC Bluetooth USB accessory automatically flips the HTC phone into car mode where it may access 60,000 web radio stations around the globe.  The interface permits easy touch and swipe control.   And if you type in a favorite song title, the phone will seek through stations around the globe to find one that’s playing it now.

See the quick video for yourself:

Source:RAIN

Quick Video of Clarion Next GATE

The short video below puts Clarion’s Next GATE—a relatively unique product for the aftermarket—through its paces.

The 7-inch “tablet” is basically a dummy unit with no standalone functions until it’s connected to an iPhone 4 or 4S.  The Next GATE takes the apps on your phone and converts them to an easy to read user interface on the 7 inch screen.

You can launch Siri by pressing and holding one icon on the Next GATE screen. You get the benefit of the device’s built in microphone.  Another icon lets you make phone calls through Next GATE, said The Verge.

The device gives you  a safer way to operate the iPhone in the car, without swapping out the car radio.  It works with a handful of apps out of the box, but Clarion will add more later.  Apps include Pandora, TuneIn, Vlingo, INRIX Traffic and Infogation.  The unit is available June 1 at $269.

Source: The Verge

CEA Responds to NTSB on Safe Driving

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) told a Federal safety board that it disagrees with the board’s recommendation that technology for the car should disable portable devices within reach of the driver to prevent driver distraction.

In a letter Tuesday, the CEA told the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), there is no real world evidence to support a blanket ban of use of portable devices by drivers. Instead, the CEA supports banning texting while driving and it supports laws restricting mobile phone use for novice drivers.

The CEA said, “the private sector has aggressively responded to market demand with innovative products and applications that increase driver safety. Current and future technologies could never see the light of day under the NTSB’s broad recommendations, which would inhibit the very innovation that promises safer roadways.”

The CEA response is to a letter from the NTSB dated February 7 asking both the CEA and CTIA Wireless Association to “encourage the development of technology that disables the function of portable electronics devices within reach of the driver when a vehicle is in motion” (except for emergency use).

The NTSB noted that in 2009, nearly 5,500 people died and 450,000 were injured in distraction-related accidents.  It pointed to a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study that found drivers were 23 times more likely to get into a some form of accident if they were texting while driving. A study by the same Institute performed in a simulator found drivers engaged in texting has 35 percent slower reaction times.

The CEA concluded, “CEA stands ready to partner with the NTSB and any other organization to advocate for safe driving policies that are based on real-world data, and that enable innovation and embrace personal responsibility.”

Source: CEA

ICE Partners with Phoenix Gold

The In-Car Experts buying/marketing group said it has partnered with Phoenix Gold to provide ICE retail members special pricing and other benefits on Phoenix Gold car audio products.

Other benefits include a group rebate and support for sales events.

Phoenix Gold is an Aamp of America brand. ICE Executive Director said, “”Since the line’s rebirth, our team has kept a close eye on Phoenix Gold’s progress.  Our initial concerns about AAMP’s ability to think and act like an amp/speaker vendor have all but vanished.”

Phoenix Gold was treated as a new partnership, undergoing the same vetting process as a new vendor, said ICE.

ICE is a $280+ million collective, with more than 200 storefronts in over 40 states.   It may be reached at info@incarexperts.com

Source: In Car Experts

Apple Stores See 18K Visitors a Week

Not all of the lack of retail floor traffic can be blamed on the web.  A lot of that traffic has simply been diverted to Apple stores.   The company said Tuesday its 363 stores around the world average 18,000 visitors a week.

The stores enjoyed over 85 million visitors for the recent quarter ended in March, up from 71 million a year ago..

And, if you want to know your user base for iPhone-ready car radios, Apple said that more than 365 million iPhone, iPad and iPod devices around the globe are in use.

Apple revealed Tuesday another record March quarter for the company that announced it doubled its profit from a year ago to $11.6 billion, beating analysts estimates by a wide margin.    Total sales reached $39.2 billion, up from $24.7 billion a year ago.

Even with limited supplies of the new iPad, Apple sold almost 12 million tablets in its latest quarter as well as over 35 million iPhones.

iPhone unit sales rose 88 percent from a year ago and iPad sales jumped 151 percent.

During a press conference Tuesday night, Apple repeatedly stressed that it has more innovation in the pipeline.

CEO Tim Cook said in a prepared statement, “The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.”

Much of the growth this quarter came from iPhone sales in China.  Apple product sales in the country accounted for about 20 percent of Apple’s  revenues for the quarter.  The company has barely scratched the surface in iPhone sales in China and has not yet shipped the new iPad to the country.

Additionally, Apple stressed the longevity of the iPad as a product and category and claimed the product has a near universal appeal to many demographics and markets including education and business, which the company has yet to mine.

Also during the quarter, Apple sold 4  million Macsr, up 7 percent from a year ago.  iPod sales continued to slide, with 7.7 million units sold in the quarter, down 15 percent from a year ago.

Source: Apple

Sony Fights for its Life: NYT

Sony hasn’t turned a profit since 2008 and has marketed so few innovative products that it is now in a fight for its life, said The New York Times on Sunday.

While many Japanese companies are floundering, Sony has exhibited, “an astonishing lack of ideas,” said the story by Hiroko Tabuchi.

Sony’s market value is now only 1/9^th of Samsung’s.

“It’s almost game over at Sony,” Yoshiaki Sakito, a former Sony executive  told the Times.

Sony is not alone and some of its woes, including a failure to innovate,  are hurting many Japanese consumer electronics companies.

Sony expects to lose $6.4 billion this year.  It’s facing competition from Apple and suffers from internal infighting where its many divisions fail to effectively incubate, nurture and bring to fruition new ideas.

Sony also suffers from bloated product lines.

It’s new CEO, Kazuo Hirai announced last week that Sony will focus on 3 businesses within its electronics division– mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets; cameras and camcorders; and games. 70 percent of Sony’s R&D monies will go into the 3 key categories.

But Hirai vowed Sony will not exit the TV market.

Sony is also in the entertainment and financial businesses and those sectors are “stable” for the company, said Hirai at a  meeting where he outlined turnaround plans for Sony.

For the full Times  story, see  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/technology/how-sony-fell-behind-in-the-tech-parade.html.

Sony also recently announced plans to cut  10,000 jobs.

Source: The New York Times, ABC News , Seeking Alpha

Samsung Galaxy S III Makes Debut May 3

Samsung Electronics confirmed it will introduce the long awaited 3^rd generation of the popular Galaxy S on May 3, said Reuters.

Industry watchers are hoping it will add a quad core processor to the Galaxy platform which has helped propel Samsung to a leading smartphone maker in a highly competitive market.  Samsung has sold over 40 million Android-based Galaxy phones since June 2010.  The Galaxy S II was introduced roughly a year later, sporting a dazzling super AMOLED Plus screen.

Samsung will introduce the newest Galaxy S at a press event in London.  It plans to advertise the phone heavily during the upcoming summer Olympics. also to take place in London.

Source: Reuters

Best Buy’s Dunn Investigated on Personal Conduct

Best Buy’s Brian Dunn, who resigned as CEO Tuesday, did so amidst a probe into his personal conduct by the store’s board of directors, reported news agencies Wednesday.

“Certain issues were brought to the board’s attention regarding Mr. Dunn’s personal conduct, unrelated to the company’s operations or financial controls, and an audit committee investigation was initiated,” said a Best Buy statement. “Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Dunn chose to resign.”

Best Buy did not initially disclose the probe in announcing Dunn’s resignation.

No further details on why the probe was initiated were offered.

Dunn, age 51, resigned abruptly Tuesday, surprising industry members as well as Wall Street.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Reuters

 

Best Buy’s Dunn Resigns

Best Buy announced that CEO Brian Dunn has resigned, and will be temporarily replaced by Director G. Mike Mikan, a former CFO of UnitedHealth.

The chain is now searching for a permanent CEO to replace Dunn, whose exit comes amidst financial losses at Best Buy as it tries to compete against online retailers.

For car audio and for all of consumer electronics, the change in leadership is expected to create a shift in the way Best Buy handles connectivity.

Kenwood’s Keith Lehmann noted “The change in leadership is indicative of a sweeping movement by Best Buy to respond to the dynamics in the market.  This also includes mobile… to structure change to a new focus on connectivity.  Best Buy is making an all out effort at this time to remain relevant in the market.”

Connectivity, of course, cuts across many product areas including computers, wireless, home theater and car electronics. “Connectivity is their big charter,” added Lehmann.

Connectivity also dovetails with Best Buy’s need to differentiate itself from online retailers.

As Reuters reports,  Scott Tilghman, analyst at Caris & Co., said of Best Buy’s next CEO, “…the  company needs to take a step back and figure out how they are going to differentiate themselves….The speed of transition has been their biggest challenge. ”

Roger Lanctot, Associate Director of Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics told CEoutlook, “Best Buy has been pursuing multiple strategies in aftermarket mobile electronics. Taken individually— Ford Sync customer training, OnStar FMV, Best Buy branded PNDs, Geek Squad installation– all sound good but what was clearly missing was a unified cross-department statement that Best Buy was THE place to go for automotive aftermarket solutions.  With all of the hullabaloo about driver distraction, Best Buy should/could have jumped into the fray as offering “safe” integration of aftermarket electronics. ”

Privately, industry members state that Best Buy believes car electronics is not performing as well as other categories but there is room to improve the store’s execution in the category.  To that end, Best Buy recently began working with Car Toys to enter the expeditor car electronics market where it sells 12 products to car dealers and fleets.

Best Buy said Tuesday that Dunn left by “mutual agreement.”

Interim CEO Mikan said, “The Best Buy team and I will be extremely focused on successfully managing this period of transition. I want to assure our employees, customers and other key stakeholders that we will work together to achieve our company’s growth and profitability goals.”

Best Buy shares rose 1.3% to $23.23 following the announcement, said Forbes.

The chain has posted 6 straight quarters of declines in same store sales for those stores open at least 14 months.

Dunn said in a Best Buy press statement,  “I have enjoyed every one of my 28 years with this company, and I leave it today in position for a strong future. I am proud of my fellow employees and I wish them the best.”

Source: Best Buy, Forbes, Reuters

Google 7-Inch Tablet Expected at $199

Some industry watchers believe Google will offer a 7-inch tablet in coming months, and a report now says Google has partnered with Asustek to produce a $199 device that may ship around June.

The Android device will be a Google Nexus model that goes into production in April, reports Taiwan-based news source DigiTimes.

DigiTimes has a rocky track record of predicting new products.  It has been claiming a 7-inch iPad is imminent for years.

If the report proves true, the Google tablet, at a sub $200 price point,  would drive down margins for tablet vendors in general, including Amazon.

The Boy Genius Report speculates the device might makes its debut at Google’s annual I/O conference on June 27.

Source: DigiTimes, BGR

 

2 Key Reviews of New iPad

The new iPad is so bright its like getting a new eye glass prescription, says famed reviewer Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal of the latest iPad which goes on sale Friday starting at $499.

Although the basic changes are a 4G connection and a brighter display, “These upgrades are massive,” says Mossberg.  He called the display, “the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.”

Apple may sell 1 million of the new iPad– the device is simply called :iPad” rather than iPad 3–on launch day March 16, estimates Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.  Apple told USA Today that pre-orders for the device are “off the charts,” and Apple is basically sold out of pre-order inventory.

Joshua Topolsky of the Verge (and former Editor of Engadget) said the display is “outrageous. It’s stunning. It’s incredible. I’m not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you hold this in your hands, or maybe it’s the technology that Apple is utilizing, or maybe it’s the responsiveness of iOS — but there’s something almost bizarre about how good this screen is. After the launch event, I described the screen as “surreal,” and I still think that’s a pretty good fit.”

The text is sharp enough that you can read in smaller fonts on the device than on the iPad 2, said Mossberg.

Tradeoffs appear to be minor, said the reviewers. There’s a 7 to 8 percent increase in weight and thickness over the iPad 2 and battery life is slightly shorter but still around 10 hours.

The new iPad’s screen has 1 million more pixels than HDTV. It’s 2048 x 1536 resolution screen has 4 times the pixels of the iPad 2 at the same size of 9.7 inches.

Sources:

 The Verge 

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required to view full article)

PCMag.com  

Apple Intro’s 4G iPad

Apple unveiled the next generation iPad to be available March 16.  The  “new iPad,” as it is called, adds a Retina Display with more pixels that any mobile device and 4G LTE capability on Verizon and AT&T.

The newest iPad also gets quad-core graphics, plus a new 5MP “iSight” camera with 1080p HD video so you can grab the iPad as a camera or camcorder wherever you are, said Apple at an event Wednesday led by new CEO Tim Cook.

“The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos,” said Apple’s Phil Shiller, SVP of Worldwide Marketing.

The Retina display resolution is 2,048×1,536.  It gives you 4 times as many pixels as the iPad 2.

Still the new iPad retains its 10 hour battery life, droping to 9 hours on 4G.

The WiFi only new iPad will cost $499 for a 16GB model, $599 for a 32GB version and $699 for a 64GB model.   4G versions will cost $629, $729 and $829.  The iPad 2 remains in the line-up with a $100 price drop to $399 for the 16GB WiFi model.

Source: Apple

U.S. Smartphone Owners Now Outnumber Cellphone Users

Smartphone owners now outnumber the 41 percent of U.S. adults who own a more basic cellphone, according to a new study from Pew Research.  Smartphone ownership among adults is presently up to 46 percent.

The mix of Android and iPhone ownership is fairly close, while BlackBerry ownership continues to slide.

• Android devices are used by 20% of cell owners, up from 15% in May 2011
• iPhones are used by 19% of cell owners, up from 10% in May 2011
• Blackberries are used by 6% of cell owners, down from 10% in May 2011

Read the full report, including details on smartphone ownership across demographic groups.

Source: Pew Research Center

BestBuy.com Received 1 Billion Visits

Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn told showgoers at Mobile World Congress that BestBuy.com had 1 billion visits last year and its dot.com orders and units are up 33 percent.

Also, Dunn said of mobile phones purchased on BestBuy.com, 77 percent of those orders are picked up in a store on the same day, and 63 percent of those within 12 hours.

The comments came in Barcelona, Spain, as Dunn shared the stage with execs from eBay and IPG.

Best Buy said it now sells 25 million devices worldwide such as smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks that are “connected.”  It expects the number of connected devices it sells to double within the next five years, “making us the largest ‘enabler’ of connected mobile devices in the world,” said Dunn.

Source: Best Buy

New Apple iPad and Apple TV? Expected Next Week

Confirming reports earlier this month, Apple announced a press event for next Wednesday, March 7 where the next iPad is expected to be announced. Analysts are predicting it will include 4G Internet access, a faster processor, an improved touch screen.

And a report in 9to5Mac says the latest iPad will be joined by a new version of Apple TV that sports a faster processor.

Some reports say the new iPad will ship shortly following the event.

The press invitation says only, “We have something you really have to see. And touch,” and seems to show a section of the iPad.  The event will be held at 1 pm Eastern Standard Time in San Francisco.

Source: Reuters, 9t05Mac

Get Ready for Quad Core Phones

Some of the world’s first quad core phones with blazing fast processor speeds were unveiled at Mobile World Congress this week in Barcelona, Spain.

12-volters will want to note that a faster processor means faster response time when linked to the car radio.

“It speeds up how fast the phone interacts with the car….If you’re used to pushing a button and waiting a half a second  before it launches it  may be a quarter of the  a second now,” said Dennis Hopper VP Sales of Directus.

Scosche also said the new phones will create “faster and more fluid connections” to the car radio.

The only catch is this first round of quad core phones are heading to European and other countries initially,  leaving the U.S. with only an envious glimpse of what’s to come.

Here are two of the new quad core phones announced this week:

LG Optimus 4X HD—The device gets early adopter points on two fronts:  It has a Tegra 3 quad core processor (at 1.5 GHz x 4)  and it runs the new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) out of the box—no need to download it later, as in many of the newer smartphones that still ship with Android Gingerbread.  You get a roomy 4.7-inch screen with bright HD 1280 by 720 display and front/rear cameras (8MP and 1.3 MP).

 

HTC One X—This quad core (1.5 GHz x 4) phone is heading for Europe in April while the U.S. version, through AT&T, will only sport a dual core processor in order to work with AT&T’s 4G LTE network.  Europe gets a phone with Android 4.0 and large HD screen plus a Tegra 3 processor and Beats Audio.   The scaled back U.S. version at least provides Android Ice Cream Sandwich and Beats Audio and it should be available within 60 days. It has a generous 4.7-inch 720p HD screen and it promises a “completely new car experience” when used with a new car kit.

Then there’s a quad core Samsung Galaxy S III reported by Boy Genius Report.

Also unveiled at Mobile World Congress were new quad core models from Huawei and ZTE.

Source: CNET, Gizmag, PCWorld, TechRadar UK

Photo left via the Verge

 

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