In-car entertainment

Having already capitalized on the green movement, electric car maker Zap is hitching its star to another unstoppable trend: the iPod. The company, which has made headlines in the last year for expanding its lines to include higher-end models such as sports cars and SUVs, reportedly plans to unveil a "Made for iPod" auto at next week's Macworld extravaganza in San Francisco.

The model will feature a head unit that will accommodate the music player and pipe its tunes directly through its speakers, according to iLounge, using its new "iZap" power system made specifically for … Read more

We've been overwhelmed by all the automotive tech announcements and new products at CES. During our first day, we've seen new car stereos and GPS devices, new services from both XM and Sirius satellite radio, and Ford's play to be the carmaker most talked about at the show. Here are a sampling of blogs we've posted from 2008 CES:

New Garmin Nuvi 800 series features voice commands A new trend in GPS devices lets you enter destinations with spoken commands. The Garmin Nuvi 800 is one of the first to offer this capability.

Eclipse updates its all-in-one navigation system with the AVN6620 … Read more

At CES and the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Ford will show off its next generation navigation system, initially to be made available on the all-new Lincoln MKS. The system's 40GB hard drive will include the Gracenote database, which will automatically tag any CDs ripped to the drive, something Gracenote already does in the Cadillac CTS and Lexus LS 600h. But Gracenote goes an extra mile with Ford, providing cover art for music playing in the system. Users will be treated to a scan of the album cover art while tracks from the album play. Further, the system incorporates Gracenote'… Read more

Microsoft's product marketing tends to be fairly dull. Even inside the company, its methods for naming, marketing, and packaging have been the subject of scorn and derision.

So, that makes this commercial for its Sync in-car entertainment system all the more noteworthy.

The company illustrates the power of the system's voice controls, by showing what happens when you take those commands beyond the car.

It's a good approach to explaining a whole new type of technology--something that is often tough--just ask TiVo.

What do you think? Does it make you want to get the system, or does … Read more

As carmakers continue to integrate HD Radio into their models at the factory level, an increasing number of car-stereo makers including JVC, Sony, Dual, and Alpine have brought out HD-compatible aftermarket products over the past few months. Check out our roundup of the latest options for getting HD Radio while on the road.

Earlier this week, we told you how Mercedes-Benz had followed in the footsteps of its estranged partner, the Chrysler Group, by announcing a partnership with Hughes Telematics for all future models. At the time, Hughes confirmed that its service is scheduled to replace Mercedes' current Tele Aid system in late 2009 but declined to give any specifics on any of the features it would include. Well, thanks to the industrious gearheads over at Edmunds, we now have a clearer idea.

According to their report, the new telematics service will include all the emergency and roadside assistance features associated with GM'… Read more

Alpine's CDA-9885 joins Sony's CDX-520 and JVC's KD-HDR1 in the category of HD Radio-compatible car stereos. The in-dash system combines attractive styling and a easy-to-use music search interface with great-sounding output and a host of expandability options, but those upgrading to HD Radio will have to deal with a clunky module and a hefty price tag.

Click on the image to read our full review.

Two months after its parent company Ford said that it would be making HD Radio available on most of its models, Volvo announced that it will offer the technology as optional and standard equipment starting in fall 2008.

The Swedish auto maker said that HD Radio would be available for nearly its entire model lineup, including the S40 T5, V50 T5, C30, C70, S80, V70, XC70 and XC90 models. HD Radio (the HD stands for hybrid digital) bundles digital services with analog FM signals, providing clearer audio output, extra "multicast" (or "HD2") channels, and text information … Read more

Today, Toshiba announced an 80GB hard drive for automotive applications, doubling the capacity of current automotive hard drive offerings. Over the last year, we've seen an increasing number of cars with hard drive-based navigation and music servers, but the capacity topped out at 40GB, in the 2008 Cadillac CTS. An 80GB internal drive would likely reserve 10GB for map storage, leaving 70GB for music, video, and photos. The new 80GB automotive drive is 2.5 inches, similar in size to a laptop hard drive. Laptops have had drives well in excess of 100GB for some time now, but automotive … Read more