Archive for the 'Car' Category

George Parthimos, chief executive of miRoamer, said the Blaupunkt 600i is the first “purpose-built Internet car radio, where the Internet radio capabilities are an ingredient part of the actual unit itself.”

“It will have everything you’d expect to find in a medium- to high-end radio — AM/FM, CD, MP3 — with the added ingredient of Internet radio,” he said of the device, which was unveiled at the annual Consumer Electronics Show here.

A 3G mobile phone with a data plan is needed to connect the radio to the Internet, Parthimos said, and the company estimates the average user would consume around two gigabytes of data a month.

“It uses Bluetooth connectivity to connect to a cellphone and then the cellphone connects to a cellular network,” he said. “The mobile is purely used to connect to the Internet.

“The actual radio itself is where all your settings and all your user experience happens,” Parthimos said. “As soon as you jump in your car your mobile will automatically synch to the radio itself.”

Parthimos, whose Melbourne-based company is an online aggregator of radio content, said Blaupunkt expects to launch the radio in the second half of the year, initially in the United States and Europe.

“As for in-car installs, we’ve been inundated with a lot of companies who are interested in this,” he said, declining to name the interested automobile manufacturers. “I would imagine that that would probably happen in 2010.”

Parthimos said Blaupunkt expects the radio to cost around 399 dollars.

Via [ENGADGET]

This year’s CES will see Blaupunkt and miRoamer put Internet radio into car dashboards for the first time. According to miRoamer founder and CEO George Parthimos, “miRoamer’s development with Blaupunkt is the first seamless Internet radio solution. With the simple push of a button, users can access AM/FM stations or Internet radio’s thousands of music, entertainment, news and talk stations from around the world, all from the same car stereo.”

The first model will connect to a 3G/HSDPA/HSPA device via Bluetooth for Internet connectivity. When connecting to the Internet from an external device (Like an iPhone), the customer’s existing service provider is the default network. They have various models in the pipeline which may have their own internal modem.

The prototypes are the New Jersey 600i and the Hamburg 600i. Both will provide access to tens of thousands of miRoamer stations when connected to a smartphone on an unlimited data plan. The stereos will also offer phone, address book and navigation via Bluetooth. One of the options available is to post your playlist files on the Internet, on a free blog site. They don’t occupy much disk space and since they just link to remote files you could bookmark those playlists on the Blaupunkt radio to access anything you want from the road. You can customize favorites, search options and more using your computer at miRoamer.com and access them later through the radio.

[New Launches]

Apparently, this modder hated the thought of leaving his console home alone while he was out and about in the world. Separation anxiety no doubt. Yes, this is an Xbox 360 Console and the Controllers Modded in a car! An Xbox 360 in a car, you ask? Yes. And look how well the car and the Xbox get along. It’s like they were meant for each other.

The XBox 360 has been embedded in to the dash while 1 controller rests in the steering wheel and the other sits comfortably in front of the gear shift. It’s a great idea, but the one fatal flaw is that at some point, you will have to park that car and walk away. At which time a thief throws a rock through the window and makes off with your console. It really is a beauty though.

Looks like he did up the whole color scheme on the interior. Xbox 360 in a…Suzuki?

[Walyou]

In many states you aren’t supposed to hold a cell phone while driving. It’s the law. I once saw a teenage girl talking on her phone while driving a pick up truck, run straight into a parked car. There was nothing else around her for miles. She was simply distracted and didn’t have her focus on driving. This VR3 Bluetooth Steering Wheel Console might help those who have trouble doing two things at once.

It gives you hands free wireless chatting directly in front of you, with a design that keeps your hands on the wheel for safety. Sure, it’s ugly as hell, but so is an ambulance ride or a mangled corpse. It’s only $99.99.

The device works with your Bluetooth phone so you can keep both hands where they belong.

[Skymall]