Every year at roughly the same time as the Detroit auto show, technology companies gather in Las Vegas to show off all the hot gadgets for the upcoming year at the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES. This year we found four products worth mentioning via Engadget, so anyone in need of upgrading their current ride should check these out.
Alpine showed off its new iDA-X001 head unit (above) that was developed with Apple to complement the popular iPod. Check out its display screen flushed to the right of all the buttons. That’s pretty nifty. You connect your iPod via a UBS port — and we’d assume you could connect other MP3 players as well — and there is actually a digital music converter that basically makes your MP3s sound better than they do on the portable player itself. The Alpine also features Bluetooth connectivity and HD radio. It’ll be in stores next month, attached to a hefty $450 price tag.
Clarion’s SD FB275BT is the best-looking gadget we found. The head unit has no moving parts — no CD player, no hard drive, no nothing. It uses a SD card slot, just like your computer, and has an input for your iPod, Zune or other MP3 player. It also features Bluetooth so you can go hands-free with your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. We’d still like more features, but for the stylish iPod user this certainly ranks high on the good-looks meter. Price is $250 and it should arrive in stores in April.
Harman Kardon introduced the second generation of its plug-and-play MP3 adapter called the Drive + Play II. It allows drivers to use an iPod or other MP3 player without a new head unit and displays everything on a separate 3.5 inch screen. The second-gen system comes with a plug-in FM transmitter as well, so those without an auxiliary plug can use it right out of the box. As with most Harman Kardon products, it’s not cheap — $399.95 will be the cost of entry when it arrives this spring.
GPS systems made a strong showing at CES this year, but there isn’t much new to that technology. Eclipse aimed at integrating the often-hard-to-place portable GPS with a double-sized in-dash head unit called the AVN 2210p — catchy name, no?
It houses a TomTom One-sized GPS unit that can be removed and taken to other vehicles, but when docked uses the car’s sound system to provide turn-by-turn directions. It downloads maps via the internet but can also use TomTom’s real-time traffic service. There are plenty of other gizmos, like a USB port, hidden CD player and satellite radio tuners. It won’t come cheap, though — $900 when it becomes available this spring.
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