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In car entertainment is taken to a new level with the IVA-W505R system from Alpine. This player can play MP3, CD, DVD, DivX audio, WMA and AAC. Graphical interface for the video head is intuitive and user can use operate any digital media in the car with the help of the convenient touch screen. The device comes with blue tooth connectivity as an option.

It is possible to dock the PMD-B200 Blackbird II navigation system that is portable with the IVA W505R 2-DIN system from Alpine. This provides for portable convenience as well as benefits of fixed navigation system. This device can connect to entertainment sources that are digital. This is possible with the help of the Ai-NET source unit.

It is possible to connect this in car entertainment device to iPod video, iPod classic, iPod touch or the iPod nano through the direct high speed USB connection. The device is also capable of controlling and playing videos from iPod video, iPod classic, iPod touch and iPod nano.

The IVA-W505R features a face plate which slides to a 90 degree angle. This reveals the Blackbird slot and the DVD/CD slot. As the blackbird is docked all the controls of the navigation system are transferred automatically to the touch screen and the Bluetooth capabilities of the Blackbird are also accessible through the Alpine IVA-W505R. This device is comprehensive and provides a complete in car entertainment solution. Your long journeys are not so boring any more. You have a host of entertainment options at your fingertips with the Alpine IVA W505R installed in your car.

Did you know that it takes just 45 minutes to have the Alpine CHAS-634 6-Disc CD Changer installed by a professional? The Alpine is “Ai-NET” compatible, which means that the unit can convert Ai-Net signals into Acura/Honda vehicle stereo signals. These signals use the CD controls which come with the vehicle and can play directly through the audio system provided by the factory. This eliminates the need to use the FM Channel to play. The Alpine product is wireless as it plays through the car stereo.

All the existing controls of the car work very well once you have installed the Alphine CHAS-634 6-Disc CD Changer in your vehicle. On this device, you can fast forward, repeat music tracks or even skip. The Alphine CD Changer will allow you to play all the CDs you want. You can change tracks and play CDs using a combination of CD controls on the unit.

The Alphine CD changer provides easy access to folders on an MP3 CD and loading and removing CDs is no more a hassle. The CD trays on the unit are separable and the entire tray assembly can be taken apart too. So you need to be careful when handling the trays. The Alpine CHA-S634 is able to track and find disks easily in MP3 and regular CDs. The Alphine unit comes with an anti-skip buffer though this is not listed in the brochure. With the Alphine CHAS-634 6-Disc CD Changer installed in your vehicle, driving will be a pleasure as you have the best entertainment system on board.

Alpine, the company which is famously known for its car audio equipment has signed agreements with General Motors, BMW, and Mercedes Benz. However, they will be supplying three different types of products to these companies. It all started with the Alpine announcing its collaboration for supplying head units to the globally famous car manufacturers, Mercedes Benz. Their head equipment is now available in all classes of cars produced by Mercedes Benz around the world.

One of the amazing features of the head unit produced for the Mercedes-Benz is the 40GB hard drive. Users can effectively utilize this space to download songs in MP3 format. The songs can be transferred using the SD card reader or you can even connect it with an iPod to a six-disc DVD changer. Indeed the Alpine head unit for Mercedes appears more impressive than many of Alpine’s other high-end commerical products, like the Alpine IVA-W202R in-car entertainment device. Other features of the Mercedes Benz headset include traffic updates with the help of Sirius Satellite Radio, Bluetooth facility, voice recognition for system control and text-to-speech facility. These features ensure safe driving besides adding luxury to the car.

For the general motors, they will be producing the all-new 2010 Buick LaCrosse, 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and 2010 Cadillac SRX. These devices come with a 2GB memory, USB 2.0 for iPod, flash memory connectivity, DVD/CD player and the FM/AM/XM satellite tuner. Their creation, for the BMW, is a massive surprise package. The center stack comes with a resolution of 1280 x 480 pixels and a display of 8.8 inch, which is the largest center stack available in the market. This stack opens and closes on its own, when not in use. The large display enables easy viewing of the maps and thus is safe for the eyes. In short, the Alpine is riding high, despite recession.

The Alpine CDE-9874 is your typical Alpine product that features an intuitive and colourful faceplate design. Its main rotary volume control dial is flanked by two coloured button clusters, which are responsible for controlling separate functions. The high point of the unit happens to be its abundance of high-end features and the flexibility with which you can access them.

The unit in addition to a standard AM/FM tuner is competent enough to handle a wide range of disc formats including MP3, WMA, and AAC-encoded discs facilitated by a single disc slot. Drivers are provided with the ability to use the car radio’s dedicated View button to cycle through CD Text, ID3, or WMA tags on folder, file, track, artist, and album, while playing the latter option. Then there is a search option as well that allows you to navigate files on an MP3 disc by searching through either a list of files or folders.

You will have little difficulty in choosing a song, especially since the chosen song is shown on a display. Like its more expensive counterpart, the CDE-9874 also has the provision of “quick search” which will do away with prolonged search headaches. The feature also enables you skip to a specific track, if you know happen to know its folder/file designation. The device, in addition, allows you to navigate to different song options without interrupting the currently playing track.

Other impressive trait of the gadget is that it transforms into a full fledged iPod interface supported by the company’s own iPod cable feature. The data and logic control of the player meanwhile are transferred to the stereo faceplate.

Satellite navigation systems are a dime a dozen these days, but if you look at them more closely you will find that most of them are pretenders and just making up the numbers. You should do well to go through the specifications and other product details before deciding to take the plunge. Moreover, it is sometimes helpful if you have a portable unit to guide you through the complicated locations, as they entrust you with a great deal of flexibility and convenience. One such portable unit that you should do well to take note of is the PMD-B200 Blackbird II from Alpine, a reliable name in this field.

The sleek looking gadget is a rare delight because its portability notwithstanding it comes with an amazing array of features. The gadget is also a technological marvel and has been inscribe with a cute 4 inch wide touch screen for display, like the one found on the Alpine VPA-B222R entertainment system, and which offers sharp view of maps and clear images. That is not all as the Blackbird II comes with an amazing 4GB flash memory that, hold your breath, holds the entire map of the US and Canada, apart from an additional 6 million selectable points of interest! The implication- now you have information about important destinations like gas station, hotel, restaurant, ATM, et al at your finger tips.

If you are not impressed already don’t worry, as there are many more high-end features to keep you glued. As expected it is equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology that makes for a safe and convenient hands-free calling with your compatible mobile phone. You can even subscribe to Navteq’s Traffic FM-RDS service, and the gadget will keep with updated with traffic congestion in many major metropolitan areas. Then, to keep you in high spirits it has also got a built-in MP3 player that can be accessed via the SD memory card slot.

Tags for this article: alpine, bluetooth, gps, navigation, navteq

The Alpine IVA-W203/P1 is not the average navigation system that you are accustomed to. Rather, in taking the concept of convenience and innovation to the next level, it comes as a unique combination of navigation, audio, and video. The unit, which requires a 2-DIN slot on your dash, is especially conspicuous for its space saving features. Ironically enough, the unit appears conspicuous also for its sharp price tag as well!

What will really catch your imagination is the fact that it uses an innovative GPS navigation system called NVE-P1 that is removable. It means that you are endowed with a great deal of flexibility and convenience as you can use it on another vehicle if the situation demands. Then, there is a Bluetooth option that can be comprehensively paired with your mobile phone. The Alpine IVA system also provides whole hearted support to features like iPod, satellite radio, in addition to a whole range of multimedia files. The prominent iPod features include Percentage Search, Information Display options (artist, songs, albums), and also makes for easy navigation.

Coming back to the navigation capabilities of the system, it has been preloaded with NAVTEQ map data of the United States and Canada, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. You will also feel excited that it also has on board the text-to-speech (TTS) technology that quite adorably announces actual street names in English, Spanish or French. All these features can be viewed and availed via the 6.5″ touch screen adorning the system.

The system in its role as a disc player is compatible with disc formats like DVD, DVD, Audio, DVD Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and many more. Music playback, on the other had, includes MP3 and WMA Playback.

Tags for this article: alpine, audio, car, dvd, entertainment, mp3, navigation