Clarion showcases Bluetooth / SD FB275BT head unit, touts "no moving parts"

Clarion's already shown us its N.I.C.E. 430 navigation system here at CES, but its "semiconductor car stereo" stole the show by offering up an in-car stereo with "no moving parts," which means you won't find an optical drive or HDD in here. The single-DIN FB275BT instead receives music care of the SD slot (unfortunately, no SDHC support was mentioned) behind the front white panel or over Bluetooth, and pumps out the jams with it's 50-watt x 4 internal amplifier. Aside from also boasting handsfree connectivity with your mobile, it features an FM tuner (sorry, AM lovers), two-line LCD display, rear auxiliary input for your DAP of choice, two-channel RCA output, and a modest assortment of equalizer / bass boost presets. The faceplate boasts eight large, curved buttons as a part of Clarion's HMI (Human Machine Interface), which reportedly seeks to "minimizes the number of buttons while maximizing functionality," and plenty of indirect lighting keep it lookin' good when nightfall hits. So if you're ready to ditch the CD for good, you can pick up the FB275BT sometime this year for $249.99.

[Via Tech-On]

[David @ Jan 13th 2007 12:06PM]

So that shiny rotary volume control doesn't actually rotate?

[Andy @ Jan 13th 2007 12:19PM]

And the front panel doesnt move?

[Jason @ Jan 13th 2007 2:05PM]

And it's really that ugly?

[Urza9814 @ Jan 13th 2007 4:15PM]

That ain't ugly!
Now an iPod...THAT'S ugly. This thing's pretty nice lookin I think...though the interface isn't the greatest looking thing...which is most of it...so...yea, I guess it is kinda ugly. lol The middle ain't bad though! I'm likin the black shiny panel look. hah

[mase @ Jan 13th 2007 5:52PM]

That wouldn't look good in any car's interior. Doesn't look too user friendly either.

[Thayden @ Jan 13th 2007 6:59PM]

No AM radio? What?

[Rick Lyon @ Jan 13th 2007 7:29PM]

That's hideous, and I was thinking the same thing, the volume knob doesn't turn? I swear sometimes that marketing folk think the general public are idiots (Bud commercial with rubber floor for bouncing beer- like the beer won't explode when you open it after all that bouncing!!)

[jdavidse @ Jan 14th 2007 10:20AM]

So... it doesn't play cds, has no hard drive, no AM radio (college basketball, people), a knob that doesn't move and looks like a really ugly alarm clock? Where do I sign up?

[Jeramy @ Jan 14th 2007 7:40PM]

so, they're using the fact that it's not compatible with the world's most widely-available music format as a selling point???

[hackmiester @ Jan 18th 2007 10:28PM]

This reminds me of the iDrive, looks like a similar crap interface :(

Other than that cool :D