In-car entertainment

Pioneer didn't bet too big this year at CES 2009 in Las Vegas, and has only incrementally updated its full line of car audio receivers, amps, and speakers.

Pioneer's line of audio/video head units gains three models benefiting from better iPod integration compared with its outgoing models. The double DIN AVH-P3100DVD and AVH-P4100DVD and the single DIN, motorized AVH-P5100DVD give users a variety of options for controlling their iPod, such as the Alphabet Search feature, which allows for quick navigation to large music collections. A cool feature called Link Search selects music of a similar artist, album, … Read more

Last year, GM CEO Rick Wagoner showed up to bring Detroit a little closer to CES, and at this year's show, Ford CEO Alan Mulally made an even stronger commitment to bring the kinds of electronics on show here into cars. Nothing could have set the tone of his keynote better than having Microsoft's Steve Ballmer come out at the beginning for a quick handshake and talk about working with Ford on Sync. Ballmer pointed out that Microsoft and Ford share a vision of making the car a connected environment, while Mulally said that Ford is learning to … Read more

The remote PC access product LogMeIn is getting into trucks. A branded version of the software, "LogMeIn for Ford Work Solutions" will be included in the new F-150 trucks (and a few other models) equipped with the optional Ford Works Solutions suite, a collection of options that includes Internet access, a dashboard monitor, and a wireless keyboard and pointing device.

LogMeIn spokespeople, in a CES announcement, said they envision construction contractors and other mobile workers using the remote access product to work on billing and other office documents without requiring them to carry a laptop in their vehicle. … Read more

Griffin Technology showed off the Navigate at a CES press event yesterday, though it was announced officially at Macworld several hours before. The Navigate may seem like just an ordinary iPod remote, and indeed it can be used that way. A nice bonus is that you can also use it with the iPhone, which could be a good thing if you're not crazy about the iPhone's touch-screen controls (also pretty useful when you're driving and need to not look at the screen). But the Navigate also has a built-in FM radio as well as four station presets … Read more

Sony is expanding its mobile-audio lineup with eight new Xplod in-dash CD receivers. Of these new models, three offer built-in Bluetooth connectivity and seven feature USB ports--five of which are iPod compatible. Also among these new models is Sony Xplod's first double DIN receiver in years.

Starting with top-tier model being added to Sony's GT line of car stereos, with the high-end CDX-GT930UI features a rear USB connection for iPod, iPhone, Walkman, and other USB devices, as well as a rear aux-in. Out back, you'll also find four-volt front, rear and sub preamp outputs. On the business … Read more

JVC rings in the New Year with not one, not two, but seven new CD receivers for its 2009 mobile entertainment product line.

JVC Mobile's new flagship KD-R900 In-Dash CD Receiver has two USB 2.0 ports (one front and one rear) for connection to an iPod, an iPhone, USB flash memory drives, digital audio players, portable HDD devices, or any two devices simultaneously. The KD-R900 also features hands-free Bluetooth phone calling and A2DP wireless audio streaming capability via an included USB Bluetooth adapter and high-quality external wired microphone. This adapter operates as a fully functional receiver, transmitter, and … Read more

Eclipse showed off two cool new products at CES 2009, an all-in-one in-dash navigation and media unit, and docking head unit for a TomTom GPS device. The all-in-one AVN726E goes a long way towards turning your old beater into a high-tech machine, with navigation, Bluetooth, and multimedia playback. The AVN4430 works as a compromise between a portable nav unit and an integrated in-dash nav. A TomTom GPS easily docks with the unit, giving you navigation in the car, or you can take the TomTom out and use it in other cars. We also checked out a few other things in … Read more

The VM9423 touch-screen multimedia system is the first of six new Jensen models that will launch during the first half of 2009. This top-of-the-line system has a built-in HD Radio tuner, integrated iPod connectivity, and iTunes tagging. The VM9423 is GPS navigation, backup camera, Bluetooth, and Sirius/XM satellite radio ready--all of which require additional modules to add their respective functions. We cringe thinking about the mess of cables and modules that would have to be tucked behind the dash for the full-blown, all-bells-and-whistles install, but we think this modular approach will let users add the features they can afford … Read more

Still in set-up phase, we take a tour of the Automotive Technology hall at CES 2009. Amid customized cars being driven slowly through the booths and audio engineers testing the sound output of demonstration stereos, speakers, and amps, we snapped pictures to give you an idea of what's in store for cars at CES this year.

See photos of the Automotive Technology hall at CES.