Vehicles Blog

Updates from February, 2012

• Comfort and cool at odds Plantronics Voyager Pro HD Bluetooth headset does not look cool. It’s big and bulky and was clearly designed to be comfy chic rather than small and sleek. The device features a proximity sensor that detects when worn  so that, when you are talking on the phone and wish to switch mid-conversation to Bluetooth, the Voyager Pro HD will know when it’s slipped on to the ear and the call will be routed to the device.

  Related

  • CARgo: Simplicity in sound

  When you take the headset off, calls are switched back to the phone. It’s compatible with Vocalyst, Plantronics’ text and voice service, which handles emails via voice command and provides news and weather reports. Consumers are provided a one-year free trial, which is great, but we are reluctant to believe individuals are inclined to pay for subscription-based extras with their Bluetooth headset. Multipoint, WindSmart noise cancellation technology and voice alerts, which warn when the battery is low (among other information), round out a feature set on a product that is physically bigger than its contemporaries but may prove to be more cushy and comfortable. $100; visit plantronics.com.

  2. Old school Satechi serves There is serious throw-back quality to Satechi’s Soundfly View Bluetooth FM transmitter. Perhaps it’s the fact that dedicated, single-purpose Bluetooth devices armed with LCD screens intent on taking up cabin space seem ever so 2010. Maybe it’s the fact that the product prominently proclaims itself to be an FM transmitter, which seems so passé in the world of aux cables (to be fair, it has auxiliary capability, too). Whatever it is that makes this old school, the Soundfly View is very useful in-car — when price is considered. It will play music from SD Cards via an included slot, and this is decidedly new tech. If your car stereo does not have an auxiliary port, a product such as this is the only way to stream music from Bluetooth-enabled phones to the stereo. Another checkmark. And it has hands-free dialling, Bluetooth AVRCP 1.3 profile, which integrates with smartphone music apps to display song and artist information on-screen and a USB hub so mobile devices can be juiced while on the go. All good features within a perfectly priced proposition. $80; visit satechi.com.

  
  

  

  
  2:00 pm on February 3, 2012
   

• Simple, solid Pioneer Jerry from Bell Island, Nfld. writes, “Great stuff as always, CARgo! Could you recommend a simple car stereo system for people not looking to spend a bundle?” Glad you asked, Jerry. Not all drivers want complicated stereos. Some are looking for a nice audio experience that’s better than factory radio but will not bog them down with features they’ll not use or instructions filled with complex gobbledygook.

  Related

  • CARgo: Third eye on the road and half-way to a tablet

  Most manufacturers have a good entry-level unit, but Pioneer Electronics’ new DEH-2400UB is a standout option for individuals seeking solid simplicity. It features a CD drive that can play MP3 files, a three-band equalizer with five factory pre-sets and 50 watts of power radiating from each of four speaker outs. Pioneer’s Advanced Sound Retriever and 24-bit digital-to-analogue converter ensures that MP3 playback won’t have any digital tin tone. It also offers a front-loading USB port, which is an excellent feature for people who carry their music around on a USB stick. This puppy has earned the CARgo seal of approval, Jerry. Thanks for your email. $110; visit pioneerelectronics.ca.

  Livio offers the biggest radio dial ever There are a lot of Internet music services competing for consumer attention. Between Spotify, Grooveshark, Mog, Pandora and countless other services, some available in Canada and some not, it’s difficult to ascertain which is best and to reconcile how they will enhance the daily commute. Fortunately, Livio’s Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit is a nice baby step toward the Internet music world, as it provides music on the go that’s streamed via the Internet. But it does so by acting like a traditional radio, with access to many AM, FM and Internet radio stations.

  

  Handout

  Livio Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit

  The kit combines a Bluetooth device with an FM transmitter and provides hands-free phone calls while accessing tens of thousands of existing radio stations through a Livio app that can be downloaded to a paired smartphone. According to Livio, there are more than 45,000 stations that are available on this dial, which makes this a steal if you consider the fact it could introduce you to a new radio station every day until you’re well past 100 years old. $120; visit livioradio.com.

  
  

  

  
  9:00 am on January 29, 2012
   

• 

  Handout

  Digital media receiver's coolest feature is gesture control.

  Gesture control beckons: JVC comes out swinging in 2012 with the aggressively priced KD-X50BT Bluetooth digital media receiver, which does not have a CD drive — appropriately so, because this is an advanced car stereo and there is nothing advanced about an old-school mechanical optical slot.

  Related

  • CARgo: Headset improves Bluetooth sound quality

  The KD-X50BT connects to audio sources via front and rear USB slots, and the front slot is compatible with a USB hub, allowing multiple devices and drives to be connected at the same time. But the real innovation here — and a feature that’s new to the car stereo — is gesture control. JVC has designed a free Android app that allows users to control the KD-X50BT via various swipes on their Android device’s touchscreen. It’s a unique and intuitive way to control the car stereo, and it’s interesting that JVC has opted to release this first gesture control app on the Android platform rather than via Apple.

  In an era where everybody bends over backward to display compatibility with the iPhone, it’s a nice change of pace to see Android users on the tipping point of progress. $120; visit jvc.com.

  

  Handout

  Device helps road warriors stay connected.

  Road warriors stay connected:  Living in a relatively populated urban core, it’s easy for me to forget there are areas all over Canada and the world where cellphone coverage is non-existent. Drivers who tackle long distances with regularity and wish to ensure they are tethered to civilization should consider DeLorme’s new inReach Satellite Communicator, which offers two-way satellite communication when it’s needed most.

  Operating without cellular reception, the device provides text messaging, SOS service, confirmation that messages sent are delivered and global coverage. It also has an Android app that allows more customized communication as the base device, while powerful in reach, is weak in interface. The inReach has simple buttons that send SOS signals or a pre-programed text, but, with an Android device, users can utilize the Android interface and keyboard.

  InReach works everywhere, regardless of cellular reception, and a required service subscription costs as little as $10 per month. This is a pittance for people who spend a lot of time on the road and who do not wish to get stuck somewhere with no link to the rest of the world. $250; visit delorme.com.

  
  

  

  
  9:00 am on January 14, 2012
   

• 

  Handout

  Pioneer's app analyzes stereo's song library for similar beats.

  Supreme cups cancel noise: There’s a reason drivers risk stiff penalties to surreptitiously use their cellphones while on the road. Bluetooth solutions offer a good audio experience, but not a great audio experience.

  Related

  • CARgo: Help for talking on the road — legally, of course

  Jamming the phone against one’s ear still provides better sound quality than most available Bluetooth options. Jabra’s new Supreme Bluetooth headset tilts the balance, replacing the traditional earbud with a full ear cup, which combines with active noise cancellation to provide a vast improvement in removing ambient car noise from the phone call. The result is a clear audio experience.

  Phone calls received via Supreme sound better than having the phone jammed up against your ear. Throw into the mix a boom microphone for better voice transmission, a smartphone app that will customize settings and voice control — not to mention six hours of talk time and 15 hours of standby time —and Jabra may cost Canada’s road enforcement community countless future fines.

  In-car phone calls that are not only hands free, but free of ambient car noise … Bluetooth holdouts have no further excuses. $100; visit jabra.com.

  

  Handout

  Bluetooth headset replaces traditional earbud with full earcup

  Pioneer wants to spin your tunes: Not content to manufacture some of the best car stereos around, Pioneer Electronics now dabbles in song selection with MIXTRAX — a new application that will be implemented into its 2012 stereo lineup — and is now available for download.

  The software analyzes songs in your library, finding similar beats and melodies to recommend a playlist according to song similarity. Competitor Sony has a similar playlist generator built into its stereos, but MIXTRAX goes farther by actually mixing the songs together into one continuous tune via a user-selected mixing style or by MIXTRAX’s automatic selection. It’s as though the product development geeks at Pioneer have dropped their white coats and let loose on the dance floor.

  Now, instead of your 1,000 MP3s being played randomly or chronologically, MIXTRAX will create a song order that’s intuitive and can play all songs continuously with no breaks if so desired. Pioneer lets consumers try the app before they buy via download to an iOS device or to their PC, which suggests that it knows it’s on to something.

  Free, or $1.99 for premium iOS app; visit mixtrax-global.com.

  
  

  

  
  9:00 am on January 7, 2012