iPod Interface Roundup (yee haw)
There were an insane amount of iPod control adapters shown at CES last week. In the year preceeding the show, I did a lot of auxiliary input and charging solutions for iPods because almost nothing existed to actually control the little buggers via a car radio. Then, along came the Dension ICELink. Next was the Alpine iPod adapter. Still, that was about it until CES. Now, the floodgates have opened. So, almost no matter what car you have or what head unit you may have in it (factory or aftermarket) you’re most likely going to be able to have charging, audio and control through a simple dock connector.
The primary and most reliable companies I saw at the show sporting iPod adapters were:
-Alpine
-Clarion
-Pioneer
-Kenwood
-Peripheral
-PIE
-Monster Cable
Alpine had a working model of the new version of the IVA-D300 (an IVA-D310, if memory serves) that had full touch-screen control of the iPod, but was a little slower at access than the others I played with. It was a prototype, so I can’t say what the production model will be like, but I know Alpine is working on speeding up their access time. By the time it comes out, I’m sure it’ll be good. The graphics on this unit weren’t really that exciting either, although the touch-feedback system they’ve got on the monitor is really nice (the screen ‘clicks’ when you touch it). This unit isn’t Alpine’s highest-end flip-out video monitor, however. It’s actually a lower-end (graphics-wise) unit in their line, but it’s the only one if theirs right now with touch-panel controls.
Clarion’s VRX-755VD had a really intuitive layout (basically an exploded iPod displayed on screen), but I thought - again - that the fonts and graphics weren’t really that great. The information displayed was perfect, but I just would have preferred a little more sharpness from the unit’s on-screen display (that sounds really picky).
Pioneer debuted the AVIC-N2 (the successor to the AVIC-N1) and a double-din version of the AVIC-N2 (whose model number escapes me at this moment). Both are capable of touch-screen iPod control with a separate adapter box plugged in (much like the Alpine KCA-420i). I have to say that the controls, text and graphics were the nicest-looking on the Pioneer unit, and it was just as quick and easy to use as the Clarion. These units also have built-in navigation software, with the double-din sporting a drive for the nav disc and a separate CD drive, so that the nav disc never has to be removed to listen to a CD - unlike the AVIC-N1.
Kenwood’s offering was simply an adapter that lets any of their changer-control head units charge, control, display text and receive audio from the iPod, like the current Alpine adapter.
As far as adapters for factory head units are concerned, it seems like almost every base has been covered by Peripheral, PIE and Monster Cable (not to forget Dension, who started all this). The Monster cable is the nicest looking (that’s funny to say because the end-user will never actually see the interface) and most expensive. The cool thing about the Monster iCruze is that they have a seperate display available so that if your iPod is tucked in the glove box, you can still read the artist information without leaning over and fumbling with the iPod itself. Peripheral’s piece and PIE’s are rather similar (not sure the price difference yet) so that will probably come down to who has an adapter for your car, although Peripheral did have the foresight to make their adapter out of white plastic, instead of PIE’s black boxes. It seems like that’s just about it, except to mention that I didn’t discuss availability with any of those vendors, but will shout them out as they arrive at my store or anywhere else I may stumble.
