08/10/2006 Archived Entry: "Cars and iPods"

It was announced last week that North American cars will now be contributing to apple's quest of dominance by adding iPod connectivity to their cars. We'll now be able to plug the iPod in and control it through the car's stereo controls. A very cool feature! I've had some experience with the iPod's FM transmitter and found it to be much more of a headache than I would like it to be. Just plugging it in (increasingly less viable with the non-standardization of cassette decks) will save a lot of setup time and using the car's controls will definately make for a safer driving experience as fiddling with the iPod's wheel can be hazardous while you're driving. I love the co-operation between apple and car manufacturers, it's not exactly a relationship that you expect. The only downside is that you have to buy an american car...

I wonder who approached who to make this deal and who's making money. The advantages to apple are clear, this will be a new - and practical - use of the iPod, and yet another sign of their total lock down on the portable music player space. For the car manufacturers, it's not so clear cut. It's an indication that they're making an effort to appeal to a younger demographic and are "getting with the times". On the other hand, American cars have underlying problems that iPod integration will not solve; it's simply just another feature - one I doubt that will tip the scales of anyone doing serious car research. Then again, we shouldn't underestimate apple-power.

A while ago, I came up with a similar idea for cell phones. Cars should come with bluetooth adapters that sync with your cellphone, you'd hear the conversation through the car speakers (maybe only the driver side speaker) and the steering wheel would contain the mic and keypad/controls. Or you could buy earpieces and FM iPod transmitters.

Replies: 3 comments

http://gear.ign.com/articles/723/723296p1.html

Posted by Dave @ 08/12/2006 11:48 AM EST

Guys, as some of you probably do, I check this website at work, and my surfing is monitored. If you're going to link to pages with pics of vibrators and such, please give some hint that it is not office-friendly.

Thanks.

Posted by Étienne @ 08/14/2006 10:56 AM EST

LOL!!! I feel inspired to post about cookie recipes with links to porn...:P!

Posted by dAN @ 08/14/2006 02:22 PM EST