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If you’re bored with the limited selection of available in-car radio stations, DAB just doesn’t float your boat, or still have trouble tuning into anything but dodgy local commercial broadcasters, then why not extend your reach to include stations all over the world.
Blaupunkt prototype offers in-car access to thousands of global radio stations. Image: Blaupunkt.
More pointedly, renowned German audio electronics specialist Blaupunkt has this week used the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to showcase two Internet car radios, which arrive as industry firsts for the in-car entertainment market.
Developed in conjunction with Australian technology outfit miRoamer, the ‘New Jersey’ and ‘Hamburg’ radios will offer dashboard access to tens of thousands of stations worldwide by streaming an Internet connection through Bluetooth technology in an external mobile phone.
According to Which? magazine, users will require a 3G mobile service contract, preferably with an unlimited data plan, which would then enable connection without listeners having to shoulder substantial extra charges.
While currently only in prototype form, the double-DIN New Jersey 600i, which includes a colour display screen, a USB connection, and a keypad for direct mobile phone access, is expected to come with a retail price of around 400 Euros.
The slightly smaller single-DIN Hamburg 600i radio, which more or less matches the New Jersey beyond its lack of keypad access, is likely to cost somewhere in the region of 300 Euros.
Both models will also support AM/FM radio and CD-based music, and are scheduled for a European release in the latter half of 2009.
According to miRoamer CEO George Parthimos, talks are currently underway with the likes of Lexus and BMW to have the Blaupunkt radios pre-installed in production line vehicles, while a retrofitted model is also in the pipeline.
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