Blaupunkt dumps CDs in new car stereo

(Credit: Blaupunkt)

It was bound to happen eventually and, in fact, it's surprising that we haven't seen this sooner.

Blaupunkt's "Melbourne SD27" is the first car stereo that shuns CDs, according to SCI FI Tech, instead playing MP3 and WMA files with a front-loading SD card. To make things even easier, there's an optional adapter that can be used for an iPod, mobile phone or GPS device.

The writing was already on the wall for car stereos to go this route, but the kicker that could accelerate the trend even faster is this gadget's price of only $160. That's got to be one of the lowest entry prices for any major first-mover tech product we've seen in years.

[billybadassweaver]

Alpine was first with NO CD

Actually the Alpine IDA-X001 was first to the market without a CD player. It's MP3 friendly, but is made to work well with the IPOD. It retails for $299 and is a great choice if you have an IPOD.

[markdoiron]

Article Headline Should Have Highlighted SD Card

The only reason I read the article was because it made it seem that dumping the CD player was some big deal. I wanted to find out why, since there have been head units w/t CD players for years and years. The jewel hear, which should have been mentioned in the headline, was that the SD card is being used to transfer music. That's great! Yes, I guess the Alpine unit can take a thumb drive, but those are always vulnerable to some type of accident because of the way they stick out of the device. The SD card is a great alternative to a CD-based device and its moving parts. --mark d.

[smokeonit]

no AAC support, fuggetaboutit...

only mp3 and wma (as if wma was needed, LOL), but aac is missing... stupid...

i prefer the dension ice>link that plus into the digital system bus of the OEM
radios, ipod goes all digital in... in my new beetle the ipod sounds better than
my CD changer used to sound (now unistalled)...