In-car entertainment

Car manufacturers are racing to integrate smartphones with infotainment systems, but one startup wants to cut to the chase and build a head unit around the iPhone.

Dash is a sleek, double-din automotive head unit concept that uses interchangable faceplates in which the driver snaps in his or her smartphone to use as the stereo's interface. Colorado-based Devium designed the product and has turned to Kickstarter.com to raise the money it needs to manufacture and sell it.

Smartphones attach to the faceplate and are held in place by a removable rubber lining in the cavity that snugly fits … Read more

According to a study, high fuel economy and robust smartphone integration are the features most important to Generation Y car buyers.

They came of driving age when hybrids were already mainstream, and to them a hybrid power train is as reliable as conventional internal-combustion-equipped cars. To find what this increasingly important demographic wants in a car, consulting firm Deloitt LLP conducted its annual review of Gen Y consumers aged 19 to 31 in the U.S., China, and Europe. While previous generations may have lusted after horsepower and engine, Deloitt found that these savvy consumers are eyeing high fuel economy … Read more

Rear-seat entertainment systems often run more than $1,000 for a factory-installed system, yet many people find a $500 iPad works just as well. The Scosche Backstage Pro works as a rear-seat mount for iPads.

The Backstage Pro clamps on to the front-seat headrest posts, with the iPad holder facing the rear-seat occupant. The package includes a long cord that can connect the Backstage Pro to a 12-volt outlet in the car, keeping the iPad charged while in use.

The iPad holder and the mount make up the two major pieces of the Backstage Pro, with the holder sliding easily into place on the mount. This is a smart arrangement for a couple of reasons. First, it makes clamping the mount to the headrest posts easier, because the holder is out of the way. Second, once installed, the holder can easily be taken out of the car, leaving the unobtrusive mount in place. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--As its luxury competitors showed off new connected-car features and integrated apps, Mercedes-Benz lagged, until now.

At CES 2012 Mercedes-Benz revealed a full-featured new telematics system, Mbrace2, which gives drivers access to a number of useful and popular apps in the dashboard. This new system will first see production in the updated 2013 SL-Class, then roll out to other 2013 models.

Mercedes-Benz enhanced its traditional onscreen interface with a carousel menu structure, and one of those carousel items leads to the apps. These include Facebook, Yelp, a news reader, Morningstar Finance, Google search, Google Street View, and Panoramio. Most … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Audi delivered remarkable technology with its A7 model last year, and now the company is bringing even more advanced features to the low end of its lineup, in the new A3.

Although Audi did not have a new A3 on display at CES 2012, the company did bring its dashboard. The completely functional head unit in this dashboard showed off Audi's latest cabin technology. More importantly, it showed that Audi won't reserve this technology for its high-end models.

One of the top features, which also made the A7 such a standout, is the dedicated data connection into … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At Chrysler's UConnect booth for CES, a leather clad woman wearing aviators turned up the Dodge Charger's volume and the sounds of Just Dance by Lady Gaga came blasting out of the speakers.

But as she increased the volume, the indicator on the LCD reaching toward its limit, the sound never became painful. Partly because I liked the song, but mostly due to the Beats by Dre audio system in the car, which pumped out extremely tight, controlled sound. As the volume rose, I detected no distortion, and even the Charger's door panels seemed unaffected by … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At CES 2012, JVC presented an upgraded version of its previous-generation Advanced External mode and renamed the connection "App Link mode."

Those looking to take advantage of iPhone and iPod Touch apps in their car can make use of App Link mode, found in the 2012 line of JVC car audio and video receivers, to display and control supported applications using the stereo's color touch screen. Okay, so JVC's not the first manufacturer to claim this functionality, but what strikes me as interesting is the selection of app partners announced as part of the initial … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Chip maker Freescale sees smartphone integration as the future of automotive infotainment systems.

Luke Smithwick, who runs the Driver Information and Infotainment Business section of Freescale, points out his daughters as an example of how young people's lives are on their smartphones. And no matter what regulations might be passed, those phones will find a way into the car. So Smithwick's mission is to work on technology that can safely integrate smartphones with driver information systems.

Among its displays here at CES 2012, Freescale had a head unit with its version of MirrorLink enabled, a new technology … Read more

LAS VEGAS--At CES 2012, Johnson Controls showed off its HUD technology, currently used in the Citroen DS5, and a conceptual 3D instrument cluster.

In a private meeting room, Johnson Controls had two bucks set up, stands with automotive instrument clusters showing off its latest technology. The company, which does big automotive business with things such as the HomeLink system for opening garage doors, is pushing its human/machine interface capabilities in new dashboard instrumentation products.

The head-up display (HUD) system relies on a small, clear panel sticking up out of the dashboard, above the instrument cluster. A projection shows speed, … Read more