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Updates from January, 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

    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

    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.

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    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
     

  • Lack self control? Consider cellControlThere are a lot of gadgets that help facilitate the usage of one’s mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. So we applaud Scosche for its cellControl safe driving system, which is designed to completely disable the use of unsafe cellphone applications during the commute.

    Handout

    Scosche's cellControl helps you keep self control.

    Installation is simple enough, with users activating the device online, downloading an app on to the designated mobile device and then installing the unit to the car’s OBD-II interface. The result is that all phone functionality that could distract a driver is disabled when the car is in motion. It can even be configured to disable the usage of phone service unless it detects a hands-free headset.

    The device is perfect for keeping teen minds on the road rather than on Twitter. As for adults who lack self control and need to purchase this product for themselves, they should be very ashamed. Unfortunately, the product is presently only available for Blackberry and Android devices, meaning kids with iPhones can continue on their self-destructive path for just a while longer. $130; visit scosche.com.

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    Refreshing but not revolutionary Sony’s been at it for quite some time with the Xplod MEX Bluetooth stereo series. This means consumers can rely upon the latest iteration, the MEX-BT3900U, to be a good car stereo. The downside, though, is that the series has reached the release-by-rote stage, so the new model does not represent much of an upgrade over its predecessors. It’s a refresh, good for new buyers, but not necessarily good for existing owners.

    The MEX-BT3900U features the series-defining Bluetooth capability, a detachable faceplate and advanced sound software that utilizes an EQ7 equalizer. It also comes with Sony’s Quick-BrowZer and ZAPPIN features, which sort music by artist, album or genre and can play short clips of songs before moving on to the next one, in order to find that elusive song buried on a hundred MP3 USB drives. Speaking of USB, the MEX was among the first to standardize front-loading USB, and it still has it.

    On the whole — and at the price — it’s a good product. But most of its features were present in the preceding MEX-BT3800U, marking this puppy as evolutionary, not revolutionary. $200; visit sony.ca.


    9:00 am on December 10, 2011