Parrot launches a trio of Asteroids at CES
Parrot expands its Asteroid line of Android-powered car audio systems by three.
- North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
LAS VEGAS--The Parrot Asteroid Android-powered car stereo is back at CES, and this time it's brought a few new family members.
First up is the Parrot Asteroid CK. This 3.2-inch-screened device installs on the vehicle's dashboard, providing Bluetooth hands-free calling, A2DP audio streaming, voice command for dialing, and digital audio playback from a connected iPod, iPhone, USB storage device, or SD card. You can Bluetooth-tether a smartphone or connect a USB 3G dongle, and the Asteroid CK can connect to the Internet to stream music from the cloud or access geolocation services. The CK does not appear to be a touch-screen device and is controlled via a small wireless remote control.
Next up is the Parrot Asteroid NAV, also a dashboard-mounted device, but this model upgrades to a wide 5-inch capacitive touch screen with multitouch capability. The Asteroid NAV offers a feature set that's similar to the CK and the original Asteroid, but adds onboard GPS navigation, Virtual SuperBass2 and Sound Spatializer audio processing systems, and Parrot Dual Mode (Multipoint) technology, which allows the Asteroid NAV to simultaneously manage two paired Bluetooth phones.
While the Asteroid CK and the Asteroid NAV install on the dashboard and appear to tap into the vehicle's OEM stereo system, the third and final new member of the Asteroid family, the Asteroid 2DIN, is a full car stereo replacement receiver--much like the original single-DIN Asteroid. The device has a wide 6.2-inch, color, capacitive touch screen and packs in every trick in Parrot's book, including Bluetooth hands-free calling, A2DP audio streaming, digital audio playback via USB or SD card, and onboard GPS navigation. Additionally, the receiver can be connected to the Internet via a USB 3G dongle, Bluetooth paired smartphone, or portable Wi-Fi hot spot. An AM/FM tuner with RDS text+ decoding rounds out this car stereo's feature set.
Parrot has now expanded its single Android device into the Asteroid Platform, now four units strong and backed by an Asteroid software development kit that allows developers to create geolocation, driving assistance, contact management, and music apps.
The Asteroid CK, Asteroid NAV, and Asteroid 2DIN will all be available later this year, but more specific release dates and their respective MSRPs have not been announced. We'll get hands-on time with these new Asteroid units as CES 2012 continues and we'll get the original Asteroid single-DIN unit in for testing immediately following the show.
