The Mp3Car Blog

Tech news and tech reviews of the latest cutting edge mobile computing software and hardware.

Tag >> Car Computer

Jan 13
2009

CES 2009 - Airbiquity

Posted by Fiberoptic in telematicsCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar ComputerAirbiquity

Airbiquity is the data link technology behind Ford Sync.  What is exciting you ask?  You can use any cell phone from any carrier to get 800bps of data to your telematics solution.  Even if you have a nasty phone carrier like ATT or Verizon that doesn’t permit tethering, Airbiquity's technology will use your Bluetooth hands free profile to pull down the data you need or make an emergency call.  In my opinion 800bps will cover the majority of remote data needs until you reach a broadband link.   Lots of innovative stuff can be done with technology at very low costs due to the ability to leverage consumers existing devices.
Talk about this on our forums here:
Jan 13
2009

CES 2009 - Dashboard Devices

Posted by Fiberoptic in RSEProduct NewsIn and Around Mp3CarDashboard DevicesCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer


As long time members on our forums, this team really shares in the passion for car computing.  They have made an amazing prototype of their product which is on display at CES this year.  Final units are expected in April.  The unit without a rear seat entertainment (RSE) system will retail at $2,750.  Add on an RSE package and it will cost $485 more. This may seem pricey, but they have made some custom cables and hardware devices which should help simply and speed up the installation process. Dashboard devices has 2 units being road tested in Amsterdam now.  They have made some great progress with this product but as some of us know, one of the hardest things to do is move this from the 1-2 trial stage to being able to make, sell, market and support car computers at a larger scale production level.  This is where most companies struggle.  There are many companies who have failed completely and others who have announced product and several years later never released anything.  We will talk more about the difficulties of bringing a car computing product to market in a later post. Talk about this on our forums:


Jan 11
2009

CES 2009 - Giantec Double Din Car Computer

Posted by Fiberoptic in Product NewsGiantecDouble DinCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer


A different version of Giantec’s hardware was also in the Intel booth.  Here is Giantec's double din model.  We take a closer look at this version and the single din version as well.  The single din is in a previously posted video.

 

Talk about this on our forums: 




 

Jan 11
2009

CES 2009 – Focal Optical Input Amp

Posted by Fiberoptic in Product NewsOptical AudioCES 2009 Live CoverageCar ComputerCar AudioAmplifier

We found two amplifiers here at CES that take an optical input.  They both are very expensive but for audiophiles you can’t put a price tag on good sound.   Here is Focal’s version.

 Talk about this on our forums: 



Jan 11
2009

CES 2009 - Dashtop Devices

Posted by Fiberoptic in Product NewsDashtopCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

Dashtop Devices has a demo car here at CES.  Here is another example of a car computer hitting the market.

Talk about this on our forums:  http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/mp3car-blog-talk/128476-ces-2009-dashtop-devices.html

Jan 11
2009

CES 2009 - Giantec Single Din Car Computer

Posted by Fiberoptic in Single dinProduct NewsGiantecCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

MP3Car.com – CES 2009 - Giantec Single Din Car Computer

A different version of Giantec’s hardware was also in the Intel booth.  We take a closer look at this version and the double din version as well.  The double din in a video coming soon.

Talk about this on our forums: 

 

 

Jan 10
2009

CES 2009 - What’s new at Azentek

Posted by Fiberoptic in Product NewsCES 2009 Live CoverageCar Computerazentek

After 2 years of never shipping the Azentek Atlas, Azentek is taking a more conservative approach to launching product.  They were planning on showing their single din car computer here at CES, but have decided to hold off until it becomes available for sale.   Azentek also got car computing some exposure on good morning America. 

Check out our video for more details and talk about this on our forums here: 

 

Jan 10
2009

CES 2009 - Capacitive touch screens

Posted by Fiberoptic in touch screenProduct NewsCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer


We take a quick look at when we might be able to get 7” capacitive touch screens in our cars.
Tags: Capacitive, Touch Screen, Car computer, mp3car, ces, ces 2009, multitouch, multi-touch
Talk about this on our forums here:

Jan 10
2009

CES 2009 - Interview with Xenarc

Posted by Fiberoptic in XenarcProduct NewsCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

We sit down with Xenarc to find out what happened in 2008 and what the future holds for 2009.   Like some large companies, Xenarc has decided to opt out of buying a booth this year. 
Talk about this on our forums:

Jan 10
2009

CES 2009 - Get buzzed off Force Feedback Touch Screens

Posted by Fiberoptic in touch screenProduct NewsimmersionCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

Immersion has licensed their force feedback technology to several vendors.  We give touch screen force feedback a test run. 

 


Talk about this on our forums:

Jan 09
2009

Intel talks car computing

Posted by Fiberoptic in Wind RiverIntelCES 2009 Live CoverageCar Computer

We have a discussion with Intel about Linux in their car, reference designs, and some of the challenges of getting computers in the car.

Talk about this on our forums.   Anything you want to know more about?  Let us know on our forums.

 

Jan 08
2009

CES 2009 - Wimax, Intel & Centrafuse, The Tech Carpool

Posted by Fiberoptic in wimaxtelematicsIntelCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCentrafuseCar Computer

Wimax, Intel and Centrafuse carpool to the future of in car technology

 

Talk about this on our forums here:

 

Jan 08
2009

CES 2009 - Fabrication – a creative phone dock

Posted by Fiberoptic in maciphoneHacksfabricationCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computerapple


A creative way to fabricate a phone dock in your dashboard.

Talk about this on our forums here:

Jan 08
2009

CES 2009 - Inside Intel’s car computer

Posted by Fiberoptic in IntelCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

Intel Car Computer - The details behind the single din reference design platform.

 

 

Talk about this on our forums

Jan 08
2009

Full speed ahead on Day 1 of CES

Posted by Fiberoptic in wimaxIntelCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCentrafuseCar Computer

wimax_intel_centrafuse.jpgWimax and Centrafuse got some great exposure today at the front of Intel’s booth.  Intel used a convertible smart car. This is a perfect format for trade show demos.    We interviewed Centrafuse’s CEO Eric Breier from the car.  Expect this and 5 other videos to be online in the next 24 hours.

 

Talk about this on our forums.  Anything you want to know more about?  Let us know on our forums.

Jan 08
2009

CES 2009 - 60 Seconds about why we are here

Posted by Fiberoptic in In and Around Mp3CarCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

CES 2009 - 60 Seconds about why we are here.

 

 

What do you want to see more of?  Talk about this on our forums here.

 

Jan 08
2009

CES 2009 - Writing From the Press Room

Posted by Fiberoptic in CES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer


 

ces_press_room.jpg

The CES 2009 show floor opens today. We are writing from the press lounge on the show floor and our first video is uploading now. 


For this show, our main areas of focus: 

  • In Vehicle, mobile computing technology
  • Audio, specifically amplifiers with optical or digital inputs
  • New Display Technology
  • What technology can be transported from Home theatre into car computing?
  • Car Computer Software


Expect a few slightly off topic eccentric things as well.

Talk about this on our forums or give us tips on what to shoot here:

rob_happy_press_room_ces_2009.jpg

 

Jan 07
2009

CES & Telematics Seminar - Las Vegas 2009

Posted by Fiberoptic in telematicscesCar Computer

jw_marriott_vegas.jpg Today we are on the ground in Las Vegas getting ready to kick off our video coverage of CES. While the CES vendors setup their booths.


We were invited to attend Telematics seminar about 17 miles outside of the city which  has round tables, panels and debating the future of  communications and technology in cars. We have already heard some interesting things today that I will write about more as the day progresses.


The hottest debate of the morning, as it always has been, is what role can carmakers play in Telematics?  How can carmakers play with rapidly evolving consumer electronics products driven by massive economies of scale and a tremendous selection of features and vendors.

What value-add do carmakers really bring to car technology?  Should they just have core safety features, vehicle data outputs, input devices and get out of the way for aftermarket devices?

 

Talk about the Telematics seminar and CES on our forums.

Jan 07
2009

CES 2009 - Intel, VIA and processors

Posted by Fiberoptic in VIAIntelIn and Around Mp3CarCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCar Computer

intel_logo.jpgWe expect to see lots of Intel based car computers at CES this year.  VIA always has embedded platforms which can be modified to for the car, but other than the embedded products it seems like they have disappeared from the car-computing world now that Infill has died.   The Guru units and its close cousin the Azentek cpc will be in at least 6 cars this year.  Intel's new series of Mini-itx based boards has been a huge hit for prototypers, telematics labs, and hackers.  We even based our telematics lab bundle of this line a few months ago.


At the telematics seminar today we had a discussion with the director of Intel’s IVI director Staci Palmer.  There are no car computing or Telematics PR events planned this year for CES.  They do however have a dashboard mock up in the Intel booth, which we will report more on later.   From our discussions it also seems like Intel is going to be putting more effort behind their in vehicle version of moblin. An open source active in vehicle linux app would do wonders for in car technology.


The biggest barrier to entry I see for Linux in the car for things like moblin is a navigation solution.  How can anyone put linux in their car without nav?    I guess you could use virtual machine for your navigation…or buy a pnd?  That’s what I call a speed bump.

Talk about this and CES 2009 on our forums here.  

Jan 07
2009

CES 2009 - Where are the Car Computing software and HMI companies?

Posted by Fiberoptic in StreetdeckGracenoteCES 2009 Live CoveragecesCentrafuseCar Computerazentek

Centrafuse has four locations at CES.
  • Gracenote’s Booth demonstrating a flash integrated demo of Gracenote integrated with Centrafuse.
  • Dashboard Devices –
  • Tememetria
  • Azentek’s Booth

 

Streetdeck – No formal announcement - from their website:

  • “StreetDeck will be at the 2009 CES show in Las Vegas Nevada.  We will not have our own booth, but we will be wandering the show floor on January 8th and 9th.”

 

RoadRunner – No response
Imobile – No Response
, no press releases since 2006

 

Talk about CES 2009, Car Computing, and telematics on our forums

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