Dual Electronics XML8110 in-dash iPhone dock announced
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted November 18th 2009 1:54PM
posted November 18th 2009 1:54PM
It always seemed to us that plugging in your iPod with a cable (or worse yet, an FM tuner or cassette adapter) was an inelegant solution to listening to your Namesakes Series MP3 audiobooks on the road (the shorter works of Washington Irving as read by Dr. J, for example). Lucky for us, the motor heads from Dual Electronics have devised the XML8110. This 200 watt AM/FM docking station sits in your dash under the guise of a mild-mannered car stereo, featuring a solid state "mechless" design, optional steering control input, remote control, Bluetooth for hands-free operation with caller ID, and more. Coming soon for a reported $99, with an iPhone app in the works. Now all you need is some wheels! get a closer look after the break.
Ive been waiting for something like this....albeit maybe a little less ugly.
exactly i cant wait for a decent looking head unit ! that will be the day !
The only question is, what took so long?
Wow!
a dock for a FIRST GEN iPhone!
Yeah, I'm so replacing my good head unit and separate amps with this cheeseball affair.
Why did it take so long? Why did it take five or more years to get 25-cent auxiliary inputs put BACK on car stereos?
Walmart has been selling this unit for about two months now; although it does look a little revamped. It's not on Walmart's website but I have definatley seen it at the store on display - so you could actually play with it. It works and it is a bit ugly, i would rather get a bluetooth enabled stereo that can play your music over bluetooth.
To be honest a 200 watt power supply built into the unit for $99 is brilliant, I'm just a bit wary if thats what it can actually deliver.
My GF already has a receiver with a built-in iPod/iPhone dock:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_18801_Boss+755DBI.html
Boss even makes another with an internal cavity you can actually put the iPod into:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_17620_Boss+765DBI.html
According to the site, the Boss 755DBI is not iPhone compatible. Does yours pop up with an error message "Accessory not designed for iPhone?"
Wow! Quality stuff? Can I pick that up at the 7-11 next to the throw away phones? Is Krako coming back under a different name?
"Does yours pop up with an error message"
That message is bunk. This only means that it doesn't suppress the occasional noise from the crappy GSM radio. You'll find, after ignoring these messages, that the device works fine.
Jailbreak has a handy pop up blocker that can suppress that annoying warning.
@Jon test
@Jon First of all, these 2 are both more expensive than the Dual. Second, the first unit looks like the iPod can easily fall off if the car hits a slight bump. The second unit is just plain ugly. At least the Dual has kind of a cradle to keep the iPod/iPhone in place. Too bad so many modern cars are aftermarket-stereo-unfriendly, otherwise I would gladly put one in my Prius.
@spam_free
The first one has a little plastic cradle thing that they didn't picture for whatever reason. It holds the device very securely.
The Dual is cheaper because it's a Dual. Dual makes trash.
Don't these guys usually make the cheap Wal-Mart stuff?
Yea!
I highly advise anyone and everyone NOT to dock your iAnything into anything branded DUAL...
You mean Dane Elec?
Dane elec is mostly Radio shack/ The sourcecc
Yeah, Dual is pretty much the junkiest car stereo money can buy
This is a great idea. Almost makes me want to buy an iphone/ipod. Course, that would require me to leave VZW, so that isn't going to happen.
Although they could have made the design look a little less like a neon road sign and a little more like an elegant car stereo; something that doesn't scream "geek" as soon as you pick up a girl for a date....
Yeah I think you missed the window of opportunity to leave VZW. Now that they've added first, second, and third born to their ETF only people like Kate Gosselin will be able to leave.
You can't have an iPod because you have Verizon? Damn I better throw out my iPod or Voyager because obviously I can't have both according to your "logic." Having an iPod does not require you to use Verizon, so feel free to go get one cuz Verizon won't terminate your service.
How ugly are you that that radio would make a girl not want to go out with you? If your radio is the thing that brings your girls to the table, trying working out or use the iPhone app to schedule a plastic surgeon.
I'm guessing when he said "iphone/ipod" he meant "iphone/ipod". You just saw "iPod" and immediately took the WHOLE thing out of context, like the usual fanboy. Nice moves there, Swayze.
But saying iphone/ipod implies both iphone and ipod considering the iphone has a built in ipod. so if he would have just said iphone, my comment would have not made sense. but since he said iphone/ipod, my comment makes perfect sense. And thanks for the fanboy comment. It really shows that you cannot mention an Apple product without being a fanboy on this site. "oh he said iPod, this guy is a fanboy"
@derrick: The operative words in my post were "you pick up a girl for a date".
My wife already knows I am a geek. And she would be a bit upset if I tried to pick up a girl...
Ignoring the Ipod/Iphone nonsense...not sure why that leads you to conclude that I am ugly...
Do you actual think this stereo would like good in the dashboard of your car? Because I still stand up my statement that it is hideous.
Oh it is very ugly, I was just picking a fight lol. I will definitely be sticking with my Pioneer with the iPod cable run to the glove box. Sure it doesn't display how "cool" I am by owning an iPod/iPhone, but I'll make the best of it.
Are they going to make a droid dock?
Of course they will, I mean with the just the iPod sales they could only reach about 220 million sales ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod ) and then the iPhone, that's only about 21 million. So they're going to make the Droid dock to get that extra 100,000 sales. Next will be the Zune, hopefully grabbing another 2 million sales.
They already made a dock for the car and your home to work with Droid.
My basic Sony head unit with A2DP works just fine paired with either my GFs 3GS or my MT3G... FTMFW!
Car manufacturers can't go wrong if they make it possible to better connect consumers with their devices. Pretty soon it's gonna get better and better.
I remember when Microsoft came out with Sync. Honestly, I thought it would fail, but it's a pretty stellar piece of equipment. GPS directions, connection with my car over Bluetooth, all while streaming HD radio and your music simultaneously through a Zune, iPod, what have you. Plus with a 41 MPG car, there's no way I would have let my dad turn down that purchase.
Car companies have only begun to scratch the surface; Sync, Bluetooth, and this DE car dock are a step in the right direction =].
Yes, I love Ford. Once my current Explorer is payed off, I will buy a new one when the time comes and the Microsoft Sync is one of the main selling points for me. Plus I like car companies that stays in business because people use their money for what they want, unlike the other 2 that stays in business because the government uses our money to prolong their inevitable future of failure.
What I want is one that will let me just place the iPod Touch on the dash horizontally, clicking into place. The way this looks, looks to be flimsy. It's like you have to have one hand supporting the tray while you seat the ipod into place.
Something tells me that this head unit won't exactly be the most powerful kid on the block. The ipod/iphone already have a reputation for not putting out the best quality sound. Mix that with a substandard system and the results will probably be pretty fizzy. It's a step in the right direction, but until Alpine/Kenwood/etc. start doing something like this with a certain degree of premium quality it won't really take off (which is a damn shame, because it's a great idea).
Alpine and Kenwood have both had decks with iPod interfaces for ages now.
true, they have interfaces; not dedicated docks that let you rely on the ipod/phone interface for navigation and control. I wish one of those high end makers would come out with something with a real dock and not a usb interface.
nothing is beats on the droid. droid is super best phone in the lands:
550mhz arm cortex a8 cpu
Android 2.0
Google Nav
16gb sd card
3.7 inch 854×480 capacitive lcd touch screen
Smart Reboot(R) Technology
physical qwerty keyboard
5mp autoblur camera
I'd like to see manufacturer integrate an iPod dock in the dash, especially one that could rotate between portrait and landscape modes. If the iPod/iPhone could be controlled via the radio controls and had hands-free voice control, it would be well worth $200.
I like the idea, but this thing is uuuugly.
Besides, I'm quite happy with the Bluetooth solution (I use a Sony BT2600) where I can just leave the phone in my pocket and still use it for music and calls.
That's the one I have, works great for calls and tunes. The head unit controls the phone, not the other way around.
Combined with a simple car charger I'm all set.
AS N900 mentions...How about just using Bluetooth? Had my Palm Pre playing Pandora radio in a rental Ford Focus with SYNC. Controlled the Pre well...and the audio quality was great.
Not the same with my older Pioneer stereo in my car with Bluetooth...difficult to get them talking on that one. Bluetooth has gotten better over the last couple of years.
Bluetooth is well and good, but you still need to mount it somewhere and you still want to charge it. This solves all three problems.
Yes Matt. I also stated that they have begun to scratch the surface. A full dock for connectivity beyond Bluetooth, and maybe the ability to charge your phone while on the dock is the way to go.
We don't want that. Yuck.
We want this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chop/2427278288/
The price sounds right. I wonder if it works with phone calls.
I went with a Sony mex-5700 that did bluetooth. It worked fine with the iPhone. Handled incoming calls. And has an external microphone. Navigation prompts were routed through the head unit. Music worked fine also.
And when I decided to get rid of the iPhone and go to the Droid it continues to work the same.
And it looks a lot less ghetto then this does.
Yuck.
There are already docks that connect to your current radio via Bluetooth, headphones, or line out. However, I see a potential need for this.
- iPhone's Bluetooth doesn't support AVRCP yet, or dash controls would be good and safer
- sometimes, all the media or playback you need is on your iPhone, plus satellite radio or streaming internet stations
- if navigation and phone calls work well, this could be very helpful
- no need to charge via cigarette lighter, less accessories to buy
- depending on your car, the iPhone would be positioned higher than a dock near the cigarette lighter, making for "safer" driving, not staring as downwards
This is already for sale at Wal-Mart... or if not this model number, something from Dual that looks exactly the same.