The iPhone 5 may finally force the car audio industry into the digital age by creating a new class of in-dash products that use HDMI connections.
If Apple provides its licensees information on the iPhone 5’s new digital video format soon, it may lead to a new high end for car audio of  iPhone 5-ready head units.  The earliest we might see these would be at the Consumer Electronics Show in January,  or several months later, said suppliers.
The radios would likely cost at least $100 more to end users, by one estimate, to pay for new circuitry and an HDMI connector.
Pioneer Director of Marketing for Car Electronics Ted Cardenas explained that with new iPhone 5 video-ready head units, “There will be a cost associated with adapting to the technology.  You will see in 2013 a variety of products that support this. ” He confirmed it’s possible the products could appear at CES, but this would be the very earliest.
If these new radios also include HD screens, the cost to the consumer could go up even higher.
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Because the iPhone 5 has a new digital video output, car radio makers are waiting on Apple to outline the specifications of drawing video out of the phone. Such specifications include format, resolution and Digital Rights Management.
Some industry members believe Apple will provide special HDMI and VGA connectors that will allow the iPhone 5 to send video to many existing TVs and other products.  But 95 percent of car radios use a composite video connection, and many say it’s unlikely that Apple will release a composite video adapter.  So car audio suppliers may need to  retool products to make them iPhone 5-video ready.
JVC Mobile, like other suppliers is waiting on Apple. GM of Marketing Chad Vogelsong said, “Everyone out there is in the same boat.  If Apple does supply some information…and it requires our engineers to go in with more circuitry or code, yes, I’m sure there will be price premium.  It’s all part of the engineering.”
But he noted, “If it’s a $30 adapter, then nothing changes.  But no one knows.”
But maybe the iPhone 5 shift to all digital video will serve as a wakeup call to the car audio industry that it’s time to offer the same class of connections used in smartphones and TVs if it wants to avoid compatibility issues down the road.
Audiovox by DICE closely follows Apple technology issues.  Executive VP Steve Witt says the smartphone is really dictating what kind of hardware you need. “In North America, we’re up to around 57 or 58 percent penetration for smartphones.  So we’ve reached a tipping point.   More than 50 percent of the market is now carrying a smartphone.  Once you reach a tipping point in any market, everything begins to shift.”
He adds, “Automotive is not living in a world by itself.”
Sony didn’t want to comment specifically on the matter but said, “We realize the importance of HDMI for car stereo,” according to Yusuke Sakuraba, Product Manager for Mobile Electronics.

Directed says it is now the first remote start company to let Siri remote start a car by voice command.
The company has just updated its Viper SmartStart app so users can actually tell an iPhone to “Start my car,” and it’s done.
The new Viper 3.0.1 app allows users to launch the SmartStart app by voice and then execute one other spoken command, either “Start my car,” “Lock my car,” or “Unlock my car.”
Previously, Directed’s  Viper SmartStart system allowed these functions only by tapping the phone screen.
The app update also permits it to work with Apple’s new Maps function for GPS tracking and finding your parked car.
And it includes new in-app controls over text and email notifications.
To support the new Siri function, users must have an iPhone 4/4S running iOS 6 or an iPhone 5.
An Android version of 3.0.1 is also now available that offers a number of tweaks including more flexibility in setting text message and email alerts.
SmartStart requires an installed remote start system and a special module in order to allow your phone to remote start the car (using the SmartStart app).

GPS tracking has been around for over a decade with only middling success, but the service may have finally found its market– as an add-on feature for remote start from your phone.
Over 50 percent of Compustar’s DroneMobile remote-start-from-a-phone buyers have purchased a GPS tracking plan, so they may view the location of the car or track a teen from a phone.
“So we’re shocked,” said CompuStar Director of Sales & Marketing Jason Kaminski.  “We’re pleasantly surprised by how many people are upgrading to the tracking plan.”
Directed offers a version of its SmartStart remote start-from-a-phone with GPS tracking.  It costs an extra $100 for the hardware ($399 versus $299) and about an extra $10 a year in service fees.  The company said the uptake by consumers for GPS tracking “has exceeded our expectations,” according to VP Product Planning James Turner.
For DroneMobile, GPS tracking adds about $100 a year in service fees but there’s no extra charge in hardware.
Buyers of the tracking plan include parents of teens, small businesses who want to keep track of vehicles and customers who simply want all the bells and whistles, said Kaminski.
Audiovox just began offering a GPS tracking option for its Car Link remote start-from-a-phone module last month.  Although it’s too soon to report on its success, Audiovox Electronics President  Tom Malone said, ” If the consumer  can get the added value of the location of the vehicle, they think it’s a cool feature and its not a big cost adder, so why not have it.”
With GPS tracking, users see a real time location of the car on their smartphone. On some products, they get a full status update on the car (are doors locked, what’s the battery voltage and temperature of the cabin?).  GPS tracking also provides teen tracking features that alert you if your teen travels out of a proscribed area or exceeds a preset speed.
Car Toys, Seattle, WA., a 50+ store chain,  said of GPS tracking, “We’re seeing good traction now – this is a growth area of the business,” according to Jim Warren, SVP Merchanding. He added, “I wouldn’t say it’s suddenly catching on.  We are, though, seeing steady growth and reliable sales