Pioneer Announces CarPlay For Summer

AMY GILROY APRIL 15, 2014 0

Starting early summer, five of Pioneer’s new NEX car radios will work with Apple’s CarPlay, which would make Pioneer the first aftermarket company to come to market with Apple’s new easy software for the car.

Pioneer will offer a firmware update to render the NEX radios compatible with CarPlay, it announced this morning.

CarPlay gives drivers  the familiar screen views of the iPhone on the car radio screen and lets the radio control their phone.   There’s a simple screen for iTunes Radio, for maps, music and phone, and users get voice control through Siri so that texts may be read aloud and you can send responses.  You can scroll through all the functions here or see it in action in a Ferrari here.

A report Monday said Alpine will offer aftermarket radios with CarPlay this fall.  About 5 car makers will offer CarPlay in new cars this year including Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Volvo, Honda and Hyundai.

“Pioneer’s years of expertise integrating smartphone connectivity into the automotive environment has provided us the opportunity to be among the first to offer CarPlay to drivers,” said Ted Cardenas, VP of marketing for the Car Electronics Division of Pioneer.  “By providing an aftermarket option, Pioneer’s 2014 in-dash multimedia systems give many iPhone owners the ability to add CarPlay to their current vehicles.”

For more information regarding CarPlay compatible product, visit www.pioneer-carglobal.com/CarPlay.

Pioneer’s NEX radios include the AVIC-8000NEX ($1400 SRP), AVIC-7000NEX ($1200 SRP), AVIC-6000NEX ($900 SRP), AVIC-5000NEX ($750 SRP) and AVH-4000NEX ($700 SRP) are currently available at authorized Pioneer Car Electronics dealers nationwide

Alpine to Sell First Aftermarket Car Play Radio

AMY GILROY APRIL 14, 2014 0

Alpine Electronics will start selling the first aftermarket car radio using Apple’s CarPlay system starting this fall, according to Japanese news outlet Nikkei.

The car radio will connect by cable to an iPhone 5 or later smartphone and allow drivers to view maps on the radio screen, and use voice commands to hear their messages, as well as make calls and play music, said the report.

The Alpine radio is expected to use a 7-inch screen and it may sell in the U.S. and Europe at about $500 to $700.

CarPlay is Apple’s new software for car radios that acts like MirrorLink for iPhone, giving you the familiar screen views of the iPhone on the car radio screen and letting the radio control your phone.   There’s a simple, elegant screen for iTunes Radio, for maps, music and phone, and users get voice control through Siri so that texts may be read aloud and you can send responses.  You can scroll through all the functions here or see it in action in a Ferrari here.

While car makers announced in March they would begin offering radios with CarPlay, no suppliers have yet announced an aftermarket car radio with CarPlay.

Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Ferrari, and Honda all showed CarPlay prototypes recently and are expected to offer CarPlay in new cars this year. Hyundai is also expected to offer CarPlay this year and about 13 additional car makers will offer it in the future, according to Apple.

Alpine could not immediately be reached for comment.

Backup Cameras Now Mandatory

Breaking News: Backup Cameras Now Mandatory

AMY GILROY MARCH 31, 2014 0

A ruling Monday by the government makes inclusion of backup cameras in new vehicles mandatory by the year 2018.

After years of delays, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finally issued a ruling saying that a rear view system must show the driver a view of the area 10 feet by 20 feet directly behind the car.  These rear view systems must be included in cars by May 1, 2018.

About 73 percent of cars are already on track to include backup cameras by 2018, but by making the systems mandatory on all cars and light trucks, an estimated 13 to 15 deaths and 1,300 injuries a year may be prevented.

The backup camera systems must also meet other requirements for image size, linger time, response time, durability, and deactivation.

“Rear visibility requirements will save lives, and will save many families from the heartache suffered after these tragic incidents occur,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman.

The ruling by the fed came the day before a lawsuit was to be heard in court against the government for delaying a law passed in 2008 to make backup cameras mandatory.  The suit was filed in September.

The original law, called the  Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act, directed the DOT to issue within three years a safety standard requiring improved rear visibility in new consumer vehicles. But the government on four separate occasions from 2011 to 2013 delayed the ruling.

Car Maker Delivers 4G This Month

AMY GILROY MARCH 10, 2014 1

Audi will be the first to deliver a car with a built-in 4G LTE in a car radio when it ships this month an all-new 2015 A3 sedan with a 4G data connection from AT&T, it said.

Data charges will be offered in two plans:  $99 for 6 month plan limited to 5 Gigabytes of data and $499 for a 30-month plan with a 30GB data cap.

The new A3 will also give the driver a free 6 month trial of the high speed service.

Audi plans to offer 4G LTE in all its vehicles as new or updated models come to market.

With the service, drivers may get Facebook and Twitter alerts and hear news headlines read aloud.  They get access to more than 7,000 Internet radio stations, “picture navigation” and personal RSS feeds.

General Motors is expected to offer factory radios with built-in 4G starting this summer on 8 Chevy models, also using at AT&T data plan.

As announced at CES in January, 4G will be offered on models including the Spark, Silverado, Equinox, Corvette Stingray, Volt, and Orlando.  GM announced last year it plans to roll out 4G to many car models.

Ultra Thin Anti-Loss Bluetooth Smart Proximity Alarm

inSite Ultra Thin Anti-Loss Bluetooth Smart Proximity Alarm

 

The LBL809 ultra-thin anti-loss Bluetooth smart proximity alarm instantly alerts you when you become separated from your valuables. This receiver has an estimated operating range of 30-60 feet and will take the guess work of where you may have left your valuable or smartphone/tablet behind. The LBL809 uses Bluetooth 4.0 low energy allowing included battery to last up to one year and comes with a downloadable app for two-way functions.

 

The app provides the ability to ring a device, link status, control battery levels, and has a GPS location map which shows where the device was last seen. It also allows customizable rings or song selections and permits multiple devices to be used on the same app. The receiver has a convenient keychain or handy wallet card and is compatible with iPhone 4S, 5 & newer as well as iPad 3rd & 4th Gen, iPad Mini & newer models.

set up an apprenticeship program to train installers leaving high school

There’s a shortage of car audio installers and it appears that finding and keeping installers is taking up more energy on the part of store owners.  So here’s something that might interest retailers.

Marcraft near Spokane, WA will help retailers set up an apprenticeship program to train installers leaving high school or community college MECP (Mobile Electronics Certified Professional) training programs.

Marcraft is sanctioned by the Consumer Electronics Association to set up MECP courses in public schools, it said. It provides the curriculum and training equipment to the schools, and 22 states are running its programs. Students enrolled receive 120 hours of hands on and theory training in car audio and security.

For several years, Marcraft help coordinate an apprenticeship program with Best Buy, placing some of the top students from the MECP classes in Best Buy stores as trainees.  Best Buy stopped the program with the recession a couple of years ago,  but Marcraft says the apprenticeship program worked well and over a hundred students were placed at Best Buy stores each year.

Marcraft said it is willing to act as a clearinghouse to help retail specialists set up a similar apprenticeship plan.

In a self-rewarding cycle, if dealers sign up with Marcraft, confirming they would be willing to take on an apprentice, it would encourage the local high school or community college to offer an MECP training program.

Because school budgets are tight, administrators want to know that their vocational programs will result in an actual job before budgeting for them. If Marcraft can tell a school administrator that there are dealers in the area that are ready to take on a top-performing student as an apprentice, then the school is more likely to launch an MECP program.

Marcraft’s Kevin Smith said dealers would also get to interview the students and choose the most qualified.

No, you would not get a seasoned installer, but you would get, hopefully, someone interested in learning, with some basic training.

Interested dealers may email Kevin Smith at Marcraft at kevins@marcraft.com.

Meet Car Play From Apple

AMY GILROY MARCH 3, 2014 0

Apple announced Monday that Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Ferrari will unveil CarPlay, the renamed iOS in the Car system first announced last June.

The car makers will show CarPlay  at the Geneva Auto Show in Switzerland this week.  Other car makers including  BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota will also debut CarPlay in the future, Apple affirmed Monday.

CarPlay let you push and hold the voice button on the steering wheel to activate Siri, which then lets you use Apple Maps, listen to music and access messages.  You can also access CarPlay from the radio’s interface.

an look at your calendar and e-mails to anticipate upcoming meetings and appointments, suggesting directions to the appropriate destinations.

Apple claims CarPlay makes navigation and other tasks easier because it can look at your emails and calendar to anticipate a future appointment and suggest directions to that destination.It provides traffic info and spoken turn by turn directions along with Apple Maps on the car’s display.

Once an iPhone is connected to a car with CarPlay, Siri also helps you access your contacts, make calls, return missed calls or listen to voicemails. You can respond to in-coming messages by voice.

With CarPlay you can ask Siri to access music on iTunes Radio or your own stored music and it can also access podcasts and audiobooks.  Or you can do all of this through the car’s built-in controls.  CarPlay also supports select third-party audio apps including Spotify and iHeartRadio.