Jazz up ride with latest electronic aids

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/12/2010 (5728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

1. Dual’s blue-chip special

Though there’s not a whole lot of sizzle in Dual Electronics’ new XDMA6630 Bluetooth stereo, there is a fair portion of steak here. This is a well-priced yeoman product featuring all you’d expect from an entry-level device without skimping on any features and leaving newcomers with buyer’s remorse.

The Bluetooth technology arrives with an external microphone that can be mounted in the vehicle. A front-panel USB connection (a must-have!) gives users direct control over iPods and iPhones via a not-included sync cable, while also charging the mobile device.

A 3.5-millimetre auxiliary input complements the USB port, and it features a wireless remote control and detachable face. At 60 watts per speaker output, the XDMA6630 also offers more oomph than you’d find in comparable stereos.

With no singular home-run feature setting this above all others, gadget geeks will not salivate over the XDMA6630. But buyers looking for a solid stereo that offers everything they’ll need at a price that’s reasonable, if not dirt cheap, will benefit from dialling up this Dual. $180; visit dualav.com.

 

2. Bluetooth hardware meet software

Sound ID has notched an industry first with the introduction of its 510 Bluetooth Headset, which is compatible with the manufacturer’s newly launched iPhone EarPrint App. So, for the first time ever, users can configure their Bluetooth headset, customize settings and even locate it if misplaced via a mobile software option. Even without the app, this puppy is no slouch, featuring three microphones to enhance its noise-cancellation algorithm to isolate speech and eliminate background noise, and featuring A2DP capability, which streams music, GPS sounds and other audio, all of which are muted if a call comes in. Battery life is a respectable five hours of talk time and 135 hours of standby time. The features are solid, but what sets this apart is the sound customization afforded by EarPrint. If you’re a tinkerer, can’t leave well enough alone and/or need to fine-tune everything, it does not get better than the 510.

For those who wish to fire it up and forget it, even without using EarPrint, this is still a very solid device. $130; visit soundid.com.

 

3. Headset for the Crackberry addict

BlackBerry further leverages its reputation as a maker of serious business electronics with the HS-700 Bluetooth Wireless Headset, featuring the same faux leather surface found on the company’s latest handsets and providing an elegant, well-featured product for drivers who wish to use RIM products to make calls while keeping their hands on the wheel.

Though it’s branded with the BlackBerry logo, the HS-700 works with all Bluetooth-enabled phones and features an automatic volume control that adjusts sound based on noise levels around the user, voice control, which minimizes the need to press the call control key, and A2DP capability to stream music and GPS navigation. Four differently sized in-ear gels and two over-the-ear hoops are included so finicky individuals will start out with options. This puppy is a bit more expensive than comparably featured products, but consumers are also paying for BlackBerry quality.

Still, we can’t help but think that as good as it is, the HS-700 dilutes RIM’s brand equity away from its core competency. (Though even we question our expertise when making such declarations.) $130; visit blackberry.com

 

4. TuneTray is no rehash

Sony’s DSX-S200X is part of the company’s new digital media receiver lineup — as innovative a series of products as any unveiled this year. Where most manufacturers dress up a variant from last year’s catalogue and call it new, the DSX-S200X offers a revolutionary feature, the integrated TuneTray, which connects an MP3 player to the receiver in the most organic way imaginable. A compartment opens up and allows users to store their iPod or equivalent deep within the belly of the receiver so that it’s not only connected to the car stereo, it’s out of sight as well. Drivers are then spared the eyesore of cords running from the stereo to the MP3 player, which is usually haphazardly thrown into the cup holder, onto the dash or on the floor. To make room for the TuneTray, Sony engineers sacrificed the CD slot. Fortunately, people who bring their iPods along for the ride generally regard the optical drive as an accoutrement for Neanderthals anyway. $270; visit sony.ca.

 

5. Mini jump start

The startmonkey 200, from Power Traveller, is a convenient product that will jump-start a car battery between 15 and 20 times on one charge.

This is great, but it’s also troubling, as the individual irresponsible enough to require this many jump starts might not be responsible enough to be operating a motor vehicle. Individuals who have worked with booster cables will intuitively understand the operation: Attach the jump leads to the car battery, start the car and the battery will get juiced.

This diminutive device delivers 120 amps of power and will also charge portable gadgets. It has short-circuit protection, wrong-polarity protection, overcharge protection and other safety measures that might make you forget you’re wielding an electrical device that must not be placed in the hands of children. Unfortunately, the individual capable of requiring 15 to 20 jump starts might not know better. $225; visit powertraveller.com.

 

6. Can price drop save the GPS?

With free navigation now standard on smartphones, there is one way for the dedicated GPS unit to survive and thrive — price itself too well to pass up.

Garmin has the right idea with its newly released nxvi 2250, which is relatively cheap and happens to include the manufacturer’s most high-end feature — nxRoute, a system that recognizes time of travel to regular destinations and predicts the fastest route based on historical data.

It’s a very innovative and worthwhile feature that will definitely not be found in a free navigation product. But it is simultaneously intimidating to realize that your electronic device is actually keeping tabs on your travails. North American map data, spoken street names and even lifetime real-time traffic alerts (presuming you are in an area that is covered) round out a package that’s priced at the high point of cheap, but with legitimate heavyweight features. Will this product secure a prosperous future for dedicated GPS makers? Garmin recently announced the introduction of its own smartphone in Canada, so that pretty much answers that. $180; visit garmin.com.

 

7. Better heard than explained

Pioneer Electronics’ DEX-P99RS is designed for audiophiles — a single-DIN CD and digital media player that offers high-end signal processing and great sound reproduction. On the surface, it’s a classy-looking device, but it’s under the hood where this puppy shines. It features a 31-band digital equalizer, auto time alignment that estimates the delay from the speakers to the driver’s position and adjusts output accordingly, a 32-bit binary floating-point digital sound processor (which offers substantial sound accuracy by way of science we’ll not try to comprehend) and a copper-plated chassis that eliminates magnetic induction noise. It’s difficult to describe this product’s value over a standard stereo. How do we quantify the difference Pioneer makes in custom-manufacturing its capacitors to ensure no stock material will contaminate the output? We don’t expect those who casually care about their car audio to go out of their way to test this device, but those who do are likely to buy. $1,350; visit pioneerelectronics.ca

 

8. Throw away your AC adapters

Black & Decker’s PI100BB is a 100-watt power inverter designed to help fuel just about any portable electronic product while driving on the highway. Plug it into the DC outlet cigarette lighter adapter and you have an AC and USB outlet available to charge MP3 players, portable phones and even a laptop. The remarkable aspect of this product is the AC power slot, which means you’ll not need any sort of DC adapter for each individual gadget you might wish to access while on the go. For industrial users looking to power devices bigger than 100 watts (say, for example, a 42-inch plasma television), the company’s PI500BB will do the trick, but that product requires installation directly to the car battery.

Those looking for less fuss and who are only planning on using supporting devices that are more feasible in size for use in the vehicle will find the PI100BB is not only sufficient, but worth recommending. $32; visit blackanddecker.com

 

— Postmedia News