The Mp3Car Blog

Some people call OLED the next best thing in display technology. Manufacturers report very high levels of contrast and lots of sunlight readability.  What do you think? Is OLED the next home run in mobile car computing and telematics display technology?   Talk about this on our forums here.

 

At Azentek's SEMA booth, we interviewed Donnie to hear a little bit about their new navigation smart mirror product.  Windows Mobile devices really don’t fall in mp3car’s sweet spot, but this is an interesting form factor for a PND.   Without giving it a full run through or a drive test, this mirror seems like it would be perfect for users who wants something that works out of the box.
So What is happening with their car computing efforts?  Azentek is no longer bringing their original double din car PC into production and are starting on a brand new double din model which will be on display at CES, but not available for purchase until Q1 or Q2 2009.

The main features of this redesigned product set for release at CES will be increased tolerances to environmental and shock extremes as well as the ability for users to upgrade the Intel processor.   More details will be available at CES.

Azentek also confirmed that Centrafuse is their software platform of choice and they will be using that in a modified Azentek branded form for the release at CES.

The Chinese manufacturer Bluestar has been making double din all in one units for a few years now. Online carPC retailers digitalww and hipepc have stocked blue star's products in the past but those retailers have now closed up shop.

 

We expect to test samples within the next few months to see if this something mp3Car will offer in the store. So far so good!

 

Talk about this on our forums here

 

Intel introduces new products for mobile computing; D945GCLF2 , DG45FC

Intel’s Little Valley boards have come a long way. Initially started as a cheap fan cooled 1.3 GHz Celeron, it was then replaced by fanless version with an addition of 2 SATA ports; shortly there after, Intel reverts back to a fanned version. Each of these boards model low power consumption and a cheap price to go with it.

Recently Intel released the Atom processor which promptly introduced the successor to the Little Valley series, the D945GCLF (Code named “Little Falls”); a 1.6 GHz ultra low power consuming board, driven by a chip the size of a dime. Increased performance, efficiency and RAM capacity makes this board more desirable.

If you thought that was impressive you should check out the specs on the latest releases of Intel’s miniITX line. The D945GCLF2 (a.k.a. Little Falls 2) has some notable improvements over the first generation. For starters, it is a dual core Atom processor. Added functionality includes: an S-video output and pin-outs for six channel audio. If that isn’t enough for you, The DG45FC (or should I say “Flying Creek”) should give you that extra boost of power you are looking for. This little guy takes Core 2 Duo/Quad processors (socket 775) and provides up to 1333MHz FSB! 6 external USB ports plus support for 4 more, HDMI output, an e-SATA port, and onboard 7.1 Audio. Check out the specifications . These boards should tear through just about any CarPC application like a hot knife through butter.

Intel's team expresses great excitement with the release/production of the Atom processor; they contend that such innovation will revolutionize the future of mobile computing. This leads all of us to ask the question What will they come up with next?

Talk about this in the blog talk section . See comments on the Little Falls 2 in this thread .  

Be on the lookout for these products in the Mp3car Store Soon!

 

Click Here for Comparison Chart!

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MJS Gadgets has introduced a new product. It is a USB controlled audio selection device. This enables you to turn your single "line-in" jack on your computer to 4 "line-in" jacks and control which input you would like to hear via software. The software has a systray app that allows fast switching between channels with hotkeys. There are also available plug-ins for Centrafuse and RoadRunner. Mp3car Store now carries the UAS, view additional product information here. Share information or opinions here in the Mp3car Blog Talk section .

The Mp3Car Store is excited to be selling the Fusion Brain and looks forward to the soon-to-be released 2.0 version. The Fusion Brain is the product of a little Mp3Car Forum demand, and a whole lot of work on the part of Mp3Car forum members Nick and Tim. This little device has been used by Mp3Car Forum members all over the world to control anything with an on/off switch, button, or relay in the car. You can even use the sensor to measure environmental conditions such as temperature, light, distance, acceleration, current draw, voltage levels, and more.

How are some Mp3Car Forum members using the Fusion Brain?
Nick uses it for home automation, and Tim has it in his car doing pressure and temperature readings and more. Nick was particularly impressed with Aaron's Christmas Light show including the reindeer on top his car all controlled by the Fusion Brain to the Trans Siberian Orchestra's music and suggested also checking out h3rk's completely automatic HVAC control which is still being developed.

How do you use your Fusion Brain? Share your innovations and ideas in the Mp3Car Forums Blog Talk section in the thread of this Mp3Car Blog post. And for all of you who are new to the Fusion Brain, take a look at what others are doing and spend some time reading up in the Fusion Brain Forum on the Mp3Car Forums.

How this product came to be developed is as interesting as the Fusion Brain itself. Nick and Tim, on opposite sides of the US, teamed up to develop prototypes for Forum users. They were both pleased and somewhat surprised when they found that demand exceeded the number of prototypes they had manufactured and got to work mass producing the Fusion Brain and other accessories. Living on opposite sides of the US, and still having yet to have met face to face, Nick and Tim are hard at work on Fusion Brain 2.0 – and we are waiting in great anticipation to see their results.

You can find the Fusion Brain and all related products in the Fusion Brain section of the Mp3Car Store!

The double din Guru car computer has hit the shelves . A quick overview with the subject of a previous blog post.

One of our military customers who regularly installs MP3car's 7” transflective LCD product in Sikorsky helicopters was kind enough to share some photos side by side with aircraft instruments.  From what we are told this is as close as you can get to military grade sunlight readability without spending military amounts of cash. Very cool!  Thanks for sharing the photos.  Talk about this on the forums here. 

Check out the new AutumnWave HDTV tuner .

 

This USB TV tuner is different from all the others you may have seen or used before. The OnAir GT is a USB powered device that can receive and display television content. It is capable of receiving Over the Air signals (digital and analog), and of course feel free to plug it into your existing cable line at home. What sets this tuner apart from all the rest is a fifth generation LG Electronics tuner/demodulator which eliminates interference caused by multi-pathing; in turn it finds the strongest signal and latches on to it for the clearest possible picture.

The included software allows you to watch, capture, or pause live content. With the large interactive menu you can change just about any settings to fit your needs: Aspect ratio, viewing options like Desktop TV, zoom and many more. The EPG, or electronic programing guide, gives you a TV guide listing to set your recording schedule ahead of time or just see whats on. There is even software to burn a DVD of your favorite recordings.

 

Digital advantages:

- Clearest Picture - Take advantage of your widescreen monitor

- More Bandwidth - Allows for different languages, more captions, and tv guide

- Multi-Plexing - Get multiple channels through a single broadcast

 

After using this product for several weeks, I can honestly say that I am very impressed with it. The reception is spectacular, the picture looks just as good on my Lilli 619 as it does on my 42" Plasma. For in car use, the included antenna is probably not your best option if you plan on watching tv while driving. You might want to upgrade or engineer your own solution. The installation is quick and easy. I really like being able to switch the unit from my car to my laptop and then take it in at night and plug it into my desktop to watch High-Def on the big screen. I highly recommend this product for anyone searching for a computer TV solution.

 

In the box:

GT tuner

Carry case

Remote control

A/V input plugs

Software

Telescoping Antenna

 

More Information

 

We added TechFlex's 1/2" Self Wrapping Split Braided Sleeving- Fire retardant Wire wrap to the store. This is great for organizing the messiest of car computer installations.

Check out the demo movie here.

Talk about this on our forums here