And we're not talking about that 3.5mm-to-3.5mm trick, either. No sirree, we're referring to
bona fide iPod integration, and 2009 marks the first year where over half of all US-bound automobiles are expected to offer optional support for Apple's prolific PMP. When looking at 2008 model year vehicles, just 39% offered tight iPod integration, but according to Phil Magney, vice president of automotive research for iSuppli, the "automotive industry is at the point where in-vehicle technologies -- or the lack of them -- are influencing sales." Furthermore, Bluetooth is expected to be in 82% of 2009 US vehicles (optional or standard), and just so we're clear, we're talking
all cars, not just the
luxury brands. Unfortunately, no data was provided for expected compatibility with the
DJ Ditty.
[Via
Wired, image courtesy of
JPMagazine]
posted Oct 15th 2008 9:21AM
just offer USB support to support any type of HDD or flash drive.
indeed, altho the ipod interface is both stereo out, power and control in, so when the ipod is plugged in, its doing the whole music thingy (complete with that "magical" play count database), not the cars own audio unit.
it kinda worries me how much of a presence such a proprietary connector has these days...
My 08 CTS has this. It has an iPod connector and also a USB port that will support a bus powered HDD or a Flash drive.
You probably already know this, but if not, the Ford SYNC system is quite impressive. Perhaps more importantly, as you indicated, it uses a simple USB connector. If you want to connect to iPod you use your standard USB->iPod cable. If you want to use hard drive, flash drive, or anything else it works just the same.
my G37 does not have USB support, only ipod and CF support. my thing is, id rather use a 16GB flash drive for $30 than have to rely on a bulkier ipod to play music in the car. but then again i primarily use the hdd in my car anyway. but for those who dont have the hdd in the car, i think it would still be nice to use just a usb flash drive than the ipod.
Too true! I have JVC deck with a moderately functional USB jack. Sadly, it won't even look for files on the USB drive if there is ANYTHING there except mp3 files (i.e., PortableApps kills it dead). Car stereo stuff is *so* lame--this pod-mania just proves it.
Ha yeah, I got my ipod stereo installed in my subaru by the one and only firedog in circuit city,
so I prefer aftermarket systems!
You couldn't install it yourself?
@7on
Subaru, iPod, having someonie else do anything remotely technical....
You know what type of person he is...you actually think he is capable?
So what exactly does it say about someone who has a Subaru & an iPod?
Seriously, my WRX & I would like to know...
I wouldn't trust Circuit City to install a roll of toilet paper after all the bad press they've gotten on botched jobs.
Others having Zune support.....?!?!!?!!?
I'd dig some Zune support myself. Isn't there a thing in some cars by Microsoft anyway? Microsoft Sync or something like that?
For the time being, my car stereo does XM and plays CDs loaded with MP3s. When it comes time for a new one, if I want to connect my Zune to the stereo, I suppose I'll just have to get one with a 3.5mm aux. jack on the front of it and control my music from my Zune.
Ford SYNC (made by Microsoft) support Zune as well as iPod. That tells you how confidence they are about Zune, rather than giving consumer choices.
MS could have been blunt about this, just Zune only, no iPod
Tom, it is worth noting that the Ford SYNC system is powered by microsoft, but is not a Microsoft product. It is a Ford product. Ford set the requirement to be iPod (and Zune), USB Mass storage, and a number of others.
In other words, Ford designed a superior product. :)
There's a first time for everything.
A 3.5mm is enough for me, thank you. I don't want to pay for a feature that useless to me.
Not everyone has an iPod. I am perfectly happy with my 3 year old rockboxed iRiver
they were charging like 500 dollars for this... why wouldn't they ALL offer it at that price???
dollaz*
Uh, you were right the first time.
tyme*
this is the only reason i continue to buy ipods. integration is tight with cars and home audio sys. obviously it isnt fair to others but oh well...
philosophically speaking, the fair only comes once a year (and twice if sponsored by a community outreach program)
Sad news, this.
This truly is sad. If I ever make a product that could have mp3 integration it will be Zune only, just to say "Screw you, iPod"
It's even sadder if you think about how long it took manufacturers to adopt airbags compared to this.
Back in late 2005 I bought a 2006 Prius that had all this stuff already. And just now we're seeing commercials for keyless starting, for bluetooth speakerphones, for iPod control etc. The thing I don't see, though, is wireless key LoJack integration -- if I'm carjacked, my car knows the key is no longer in the car. It will wait three mins and then call the police and notify them of its whereabouts.
Word?
The point I'm actually trying to make is that it's still all low-tech, by today's in-vehicle standards...
If you're carjacked, why would the carjacker let you take the keys so he has to hotwire the car?
I'm no expert on how to carjack, but that wouldn't make any sense.
The sad part is all cars/trucks should of had an aux port installed starting back in 2000, so we are about 9 years behind. Most people i know take out the factory radio (because they are always garbage) and replace it. Sad, you go to buy a new ride and you have to take out the radio. Even new toyotas have no aux port in the trucks wtf
My scion has standard AUX and iPod connections (2 separate ones). That's why I love it :)
SOOOOOOOOOO what happens when the flimsy adapter plug starts to wear and you only hear sound on one side of the car unless you wiggle it in just the correct way?
And half of those cars will sit on the lot since no one can afford them!
$399 option on almost all Ford, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles. Starting as low as the Focus. Not only does it have the iPod/Zune/MP3 integration it gives you Bluetooth voice integration with Cell phones, A2DP support, etc.
Very affordable. Now, if only Ford would offer it for less by taking out the stupid FM radio and CD player (which I have not used 1 time since 2003), then it would be perfect.
I'm just making the ipod touch the head unit in my S10 truck. It will wirelessly download podcasts and new music when it is parked in the garage.
How do you wireless download podcast on your ipod touch, please teach me.
What would be nice is if Apple would open the control and dock standard for ipods so other players could pay a royalty and be controlled by anything that has an ipod compatible dock connector and controls.
What would be nice is if the clunky ipod connector that even Apple has to update sometimes, were replaced with a USB connector. Apple doesn't deserve to sit on royalty licensed standards, all they do is kill them. Take USB vs Firewire.
The iPod support usually means an USB port and that the stereo recognizes and iPod and uses it proprietary system for browsing. You can also plug in other things into the USB port and it will read the music off of there as well. MP3 format is pretty popular and supported. My car has a USB and aux port. Both are used for the iPod and its special cable, but I can use them for other things as well.
Not really. My Kenwood HU has an ipod connector and USB. If I plug in even a SanDisk Sansa, which DOES read like a removable drive in Windows, it still won't play for some reason. The USB stuff is usually meant for things like just putting files on a thumb drive or the like. I haven't found one actual DAP that works with it.
Offering iPod support sounds great BUT they must do it correctly. I have a 2007 Honda Accord and paid $200 (they wanted $400) for the iPod integration and its useless. I ended up buying a Belkin FM adapter because the Honda iPod menu system is UNUSABLE!
Which adapter did you get? I am using the iSimple (PXAMG) and it works great...a little strange to use the menu at first but it works great. I am using it on a 2006 Honda Ridgeline with Navigation.
and what happened when you went to Honda and told them that you paid extra for a feature that you didn't get. and you wanted it fixed asap or your money back.
It's very nice to have Ipod suport, but I wish I find a nice Car stereo that comes with a hard-drive or an flash memory bilt in and a SD slot to add/transfer the songs, with no CD player - and a large album art view and tags viewing.
It's nice to have a Ipod/mp3 player suport.. but do I need to plug an Ipod every time I go to my Car? C'mon, just add an HDD or a flash memory with an SD slot. I guess 8gb flash memory is cheapper than a CD player for the hardware makers.
You mean like these?
http://www.crutchfield.com/g_300/Car-Receivers.html?tp=5684&nvpair=FFBrand|Alpine&nvpair=AG_Type|ffDigital_Media_Receiver+(no+CD)
Almost makes me want to go out and buy a new car.
God dammit.
The last thing we need are our CARS (read: $15-30,000+ investments) to tie us to a single brand of MP3 player which is arguably one of the least capable out there. Why, oh why, do car companies fail at everything?
Again, the iPod support, that I have seen, is a USB port and you use a cable. NOT a hardwired cable that only connects to an iPod. You can use a thumb drive with mp3s on it just as easily. The only propriatary support is that it will pause it when the car is off and such.
I have not seen every model of car and their brand of support, but the ones I have seen are USB and a dongle, not hardwired. Even the after markets that support iPods are giving you a USB port to plug in your iPod.
My iPod lives in my car and is only taken out rarely to add songs.
@Billy Gun
They've got such systems dude. Sometimes they cost a little more because HDDs are only entering the market, and they almost always do so on the luxury end of it. But systems are coming around for lower prices, like the upcoming Nissan Connect platform: HDD-based, Bluetooth, SD slot, with USB and AUX inputs for media connectivity. Not sure how much it will cost or if its Europe-only though...
@the iPod
Its not going anywhere. its the most popular PMP and by far has the highest market penetration. Do you expect automakers to disregard one of the most popular devices because some people are anti-fanboi? I'm no fanboi myself, but you can't deny its grasp on the market these days, for better or for worse...
When we were getting a new car I really didn't want the stereo with the ipod button plug and button. I would never have use for it. There was no way around it though. Luckily there was a regular line in plug too
iPods get updated yearly or less, I expect to keep any car I buy for a minimum of 10 years. Does it really make sense for me to buy a car with iPod integration when I don't know if a future iPod generation will work with it, or if iPod will even be around at all in a few years? Personally I'm happy with the headphone jack adapter I installed in my after-market Sony deck.
rcappo, I like your idea about the Touch. We got one recently as a gift and I hadn't figured out where to use it yet. Will give it a try in the car.
Forget "future iPod generation." It's more like "future iPod firmware." When I got my iPod touch for Christmas last year, the iPod adapter in my truck (the brand escapes me at the moment, but I believe they went under a while back) that had served me well with my 1st-gen Nano for years continued to serve me well -- and in some cases, BETTER -- with the touch.
Fast-forward almost a year, and a handful of firmware updates later, and the thing is flaky at best. Every update seems to break something new, or at a minimum, break something that it already broke a little more. Why do I keep updating? Because I (foolishly) hope that Apple might pull its head out of its ass and fix it...or at least TELL US what they're fixing. I'm so sick of seeing a new firmware update that says "Bug Fixes."
:D
Hopefully these decks will use their own DAC and not rely on the iPod for that, akin to the Alpine units that do this. 24 bit Burr-Brown, please.
Us creative users get no love.
It would be nice if Apple didn't change the voltage on the charging! It went from 12V down to 4-5V now with the iPhone 3G and new iPod Touch. I have a 2008 Infiniti with the iPod integration cable and now it won't charge my new iPod Touch. It will play music and interface with the Nav screen, but now I have to bring it inside each night to charge it up. It also won't work on my iHome radio/alarm clock next to my bed or my old "retractable" power cord for travelling!
Some of the support out there is pretty poor. Just got back from a vacation where the rental car (some 2009 hyundai) had "iPod" support. What they really meant is "Window formatted, classic iPods".
Basically, there are two ways to talk to an iPod to play music:
1. The unsupported way of reading the hard disk directly, scanning for MP3 files, or sometimes reading the Apple database file directly. This has never been supported, and can and has changed at any time.
2. iPod control mode. The stereo speak to the iPod with a specific protocol to control and play music. This works with any Windows or Mac iPod, including the newer touch, and iPhones.
Rarely do the specs on the car indicate what method is used. And a lot of people are going to be pissed when they have a car with #1, and an iPod that won't work.
One should point out that some iPod integration connections are actually USB-based; in fact, most are. Some automakers offer an extra cable extension that just connects the iPod's out-port to the vehicle's USB port. Some host the simple iPodUSB cable that comes with the iPod.
All this means that, provided the iPod connection isn't a hidden behind-the-scenes cable with only your input visible, then your iPod works on the USB input, and that USB can be used for any number of universally connectible devices!
I just recently installed the Pioneer DEH-6000UB on my 06 Mazda 3 and it's a sweet head unit. It comes with a USB female connection that you can use to plug up a flash drive, iPod and I think most MP3 players. Not too sure if it will work ones that use special software needed to load music on it, like the Zune. But I tried my 80GB iPod Classic and Creative Zen Stone 1GB and they both worked flawlessly. The interface to control the iPod, other USB devices and even MP3 cd's is much better than any other units I've seen out there. The 3-line display is really nice too :)
I'm sorry for all those people. When apples changes their dock specs, they have to throw away the car. Apple, GOOD JOB, you got them where you want them.
Why isnt ford busting out connectors for the Zune... ya know.. that other portable audio player that plays more formats... to go with their ms sync..
I recently installed GROM's iPod integrator into my '04 Mazda3. Now I don't have to change CDs on my commute home, and I don't have to wait until I get 15 songs to make a CD!
Only half? Guess we know which half will be left on the lot.
What ever happened to Albinos?
http://tobroketolaugh.com
Perfect example of just how awesome iPods are. How many will offer Zune support?? Oh wait...
Think Different?