An Ultimate In-Car Bluetooth Experience – Parrot MKi9200 and ProClip Review

Ok so here’s the deal: you buy a nice new car but you decide to forgo the $1000 Bluetooth option that is available because you don’t mind using an earpiece. That makes sense. then, after going through three different bluetooth headsets due to sitting on them, leaving them in your pants while they are in the wash, and dropping another in a puddle– all while getting weird looks from other drivers wondering why you’re talking to yourself, you decide to get an in-car alternative. you decide to get one of many solutions such as the Parrot Minikit Smart (review coming soon) and it’s good, but you don’t like having to turn the radio down to answer a call and you hate the smudges it leaves on your windshield. Finally you decide to go to the dealership and plead with them to install the bluetooth option after-market until you hear the retrofit cost: $1000 + installation.

What do you do now? You’re stuck– you can replace your radio with one that supports bluetooth but you don’t want to get rid of the “OEM” look. Keeping the mounted bluetooth phone-holder is just not an option. you look online and find out about the Parrot MKi9200 and fall in love. This is exactly what you want.

Why do you want the Parrot MKi9200? you want it because it offers integration into your car’s stock sound system while adding bluetooth, iPod, AUX, and USB support. all for less than the dealership wants for just Bluetooth.

But the MKi9200 isn’t perfect yet. Let’s make this system even better than stock by adding the ProClip iPhone mount so we can have iPhone based navigation through the factory system with Bluetooth voice control.

You can see, this setup is intense. you can install it yourself, but professional installation is recommended. I had my car’s install done by a recommended installer with a cost of less than $200. That, plus the sub-$200 price of the MKi9200, with a plug-and-play harness and steering wheel control kit for less than $100 and the Brodit ProClip for less than $100 nets you a premium Bluetooth system for less than $600. And let’s not forget how you get built in iPod/iPhone, USB, and AUX input to boot.

The Brodit ProClip mount is ingenious. you can choose from multiple mounting locations (I chose the center dash air vents) and you choose which device you will use. you screw the two together with provided hardware, clip on, and that’s it. you have an almost-stock looking mount for your device. it holds my iPhone 3GS well and allows it to swivel. it also has room for my car’s factory iPod hookup underneath to provide power. if you ever get another device, just swap that half of the system and you’re ready to rock and roll. what a great concept.

It works perfectly in unison with the Parrot Bluetooth system. The MKi9200 consists of a few visible components: A display, a remote control, and a microphone. The microphone slips on the top of your headliner against the windshield so it’s almost invisible. The screen can be attached any vertical surface as it has a ball mount for directional positioning, and the remote can be placed wherever you want. some people attach it to their steering wheel for easy access but as my steering wheel is hooked up directly to the unit, I placed it to the left of my dashboard in case I ever need it. It’s out of the way and I can do almost everything with the steering wheel anyway.

You’re probably wondering how this compares to factory bluetooth. I’m happy to say that it’s far better. I have a 2008 BMW. The factory-available bluetooth on it just plain sucks. There’s no easy system for placing calls without using your phone. The system is annoying to pair, information has to squeeze on my small radio screen, and it’s not easy to use. The Parrot system is completely opposite. you pair it, it downloads your phonebook, and you press the call button and that’s it. from there, it’s all voice controlled. it asks, “Who would you like to call?” I say “Mom, Cell” and it dials my mom’s cell phone. That’s it!! It’s insane. I’ve never used something so easy. if you have an incoming call, you say “Accept” and immediately you’re talking to your caller.

As for the other features: iPod/iPhone support is great. The interface is similar to the original iPod with the click wheel. unfortunately, due to the nature of steering wheel controls, it’s difficult to choose from hundreds of artists with an up and down key. This is where the controller comes in handy. AUX in support is great as well allowing you to use another MP3 player, Laptop, or other device to play through your sound system. The last two inputs are USB and SD card. both work similarly. The SD card reader is located in the display, just behind it. The USB input is a wire. either way, you can browse a USB drive or SD card for music and play it with no issues.

Overall, the system blew my mind. How could this system be so much better than the stock Bluetooth system while offering a “stock” like look– all for less money? With the ProClip mount, it’s simply unbeatable. gone are the days of looking like a crazy person who talks to a small earpiece. No longer will you have to manually mute your music to talk on the phone. The MKi9200 does it all for you. And it does it while adding tons of new features to your car. if you’re looking for a great in-car bluetooth solution, stop waiting and go get it now. you won’t be disappointed.

Parrot MKi9200 Advanced Color Display Bluetooth Music Integration System – $194.99

Parrot UNIKA Steering Wheel Adapter – $75.99

Brodit ProClip Car Mount – $Various

Which mini-speaker annoys the neighbors most?

The Soundmatters foxL mini speaker.

(Credit:Soundmatters)

The mission is simple: gather three brands of popular mini-speakers and see which is powerful enough to annoy a grumpy building superintendent.

The briefing: I reside in a quiet, courtyard complex in Studio City, Calif. On most Sundays, the residents gather around the pool for a casual barbecue. Such an event recently presented the perfect opportunity to test three mini-speakers: an X-mini Capsule Speaker from ThinkGeek, a Soundmatters foxL Bluetooth Soundbar, and a Cyber Snipa Sonar Portable Mini Speaker to see which could produce enough quality sound to prod our cranky 60-plus-year-old supe to leave his recliner and tell us to knock off the hubbub. Join us, won’t you?

To expedite the outstandingly unscientific experiment, I chose Dubstep, which is electronica in the extreme. In fairness, some wouldn’t call it music as much as well-organized static. when the uninitiated listen to Dubstep, they’re often uncertain if the CD might be skipping. As a bleeding goat will draw the hungry, Dubstep pouring from myiPhone will attract the crotchety handyman if we can get the racket loud enough.

The Cyber Snipa Sonar mini speaker.

(Credit:Cyber Snipa)

We begin with the most affordable speaker, the Cyber Snipa Sonar. Retailing for $24.95, the rechargeable, collapsible 3-watt speaker extends from its base to stand less than 6 inches high and connects via standard headphone jack or via mini-USB to most music players. Once folded up again, it’ll easily fit in your pocket, let alone your computer bag.

Though it’s designed to enhance the gaming sound coming out of a laptop, smartphone, ortablet, we put its music ability to the test. if you’re going to crank the volume up with such a speaker, be prepared for the shock of how much audio oomph flows out of such a small device. Once at full capacity, the Sonar’s Vacuum Bass Technology system (creating a small subwoofer inside the speaker) bounces the speaker in place slightly, more than filling our outdoor pool area with plenty of staccato beats. but while I can recommend the Sonar without reservation, it didn’t rouse our super.

The X-mini Sound Capsule from ThinkGeek.

(Credit:ThinkGeek)

We switched to the $29.99 X-mini speaker from ThinkGeek. Rechargeable like the Cyber Snipa, this 2.4-watt unit unscrews from its shell and “pops” out into a compact accordion shape. when you get it thumping, you can see movement of its interior bass unit in its small resonance chamber.

As with the Sonar, the bystanders for our test were astounded by the sound the X-mini managed. Some folks asked if there was a separate power cord needed to juice its bass. but, like the Sonar, it requires only a charge via mini-USB to set up cord-free and play for at least four hours. however, while the volume from the X-mini was adequate and entertaining, it didn’t rouse the sleeping giant.

So, we were left with the $199 foxL Bluetooth Soundbar from Soundmatters. Admittedly, it’s not an absolutely fair fight here as the foxL outstrips the Sonar and X-mini in price, size, and power with its 8 watts.

At a little over 6 inches long, the foxL packs every bit of its extra watts into its sound, putting out glass-rattling bass with maxed-out volume. While we encountered distortion from the Bluetooth connection, the mini-headphone jack corrected that problem. It’s also a standalone, rechargeable unit that doubles as a noise-canceling speaker phone.

But we didn’t want to call our super. We wanted to rattle him out into the open just for giggles. and the foxL ultimately did the job, though the Sonar and X-mini probably helped soften him up. In the end, it’s clear that (if you want maximum performance in a mini-speaker) the foxL is a solid choice. but, if you want at least comparable and acceptable performance in a cheaper model, either the X-mini or the Sonar fits the bill.

Just ask our super. He isn’t speaking to us.

iLuv WorkStation dock is for serious iPad typists

I’ll be brutally honest: The iLuv WorkStation doesn’t exactly win a lot of points for beauty — it’s a bulky device, as you can see above. But what it’s lacking in subtlety, it tried hard to make up for in functionality, basically turning your iPad (or Samsung Galaxy, if you happen to swing that way) into a full-sized desktop computer. Plug the iPad in, and you get a tilting and rotating bracket, a keyboard (different models run with a connected or wireless Bluetooth keyboard), and a full set of speakers.

If you need a dedicated station for your iPad, this doesn’t look like a bad choice. just make sure you have plenty of room on your desk. the models run from US$50 to $180, and all of the units are available on iLuv’s website right now. Expect them in retail stores later this month.

Share

iPhone 4 Users Get Trade-In Deal At Target [Target Joins Mass Of Stores Offering Deals For iPhone 4 Users To Upgrade To iPhone 4S]

If you’ve got an iPhone 4, and you’re looking to get in on an iPhone 4S, then you are no doubt feeling like a pretty popular person these days  as a variety of companies like eBay and Gazelle offer you a variety of sweet deals in a bid to get you to trade up with them. and now, the folks out at Target are looking to join the fray with an offer of their own.

Here’s the rundown: if you’ve got a fully functional iPhone 4, you can take it to Target stores and get up to $200 trade-in credit. if you’ve got an iPhone 3GS that you’ve been meaning to trade up but could never quite bring yourself to pull the trigger on, as long as it’s fully operational, you’ll be able to take that in with you to Target as well and lay hands on fully $120 in credit. The down side here, though, is that the credit, at last report, is given in the form of a gift card that you can use when the iPhone 4S models come in, which means you’ll be sans phone for a week, by the look of things.

Not exactly the best deal in either sense, especially when you consider that eBay was handing out almost double that amount for the iPhone 4 just a couple days prior. But one thing is quite clear: there are a whole lot more places selling iPhone 4S models this time around than were selling iPhone 4 models, so the competition is getting extraordinarily stiff, necessitating a whole lot of special deals like these.

And what this does is lead to one great universal question for you folks out there to answer: where are you buying your new iPhone 4S from? Whose discounts and trade-in deals look the best to you so far? or will you be selling your iPhone 4 privately to raise some extra dough to buy the new model, if you even plan to sell it at all? no matter what your plans in the matter are, we’d love to hear about them, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you’ve got in mind!

UPDATE: We’ve just received clarification from Target concerning this matter (thanks Jen):

You won’t be without a phone for a week. Instead, you’ll receive a quote for your phone which is valid through 10/22/11. You’ll bring the quote and your phone when you come into the store to purchase your new iPhone 4S.

Arizona State University

Oct. 5, 2011

Android App | iPhone App

thesundevils.com introduces a new mobile experience for Sun Devil fans with iPhone and Android devices. the official mobile application of ASU Athletics offers iPhone and Android owners easy and instant access to up-to-the-minute news, scores, live game play-by-play, stats, schedules, rosters and photo galleries for the 2011-12 school year. the new mobile application is free to download from the iPhone App Store or Android Market. Users can enhance their experience by purchasing access to live audio broadcasts within the app.

The application provides iPhone and Android owners an interface that gives them immediate mobile access to essential information from thesundevils.com, the official athletic web site of ASU Athletics. Fans no longer have to wait until they have access to a computer or television to keep up with their favorite Sun Devil sport.

Fans can get access to live audio broadcasts with a paid in-application upgrade. the live audio upgrade costs $0.99 per month for iPhone users and $4.99 per year for Android users.

The free mobile application will include access to the following features:

Once downloaded, fans can purchase the live audio upgrade within the application by clicking “Purchase Sports Audio” and following the purchase process. once the upgrade is purchased, fans can immediately access audio broadcasts through the “Audio/Video” or “Games” tab. Audio broadcasts are subject to availability of online and mobile broadcast rights.

The official iPhone application of ASU Athletics is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices and requires iPhone OS 4.2 or above. the Android version is compatible with any Droid device running Android 2.2 or above.

The application can be downloaded on your phone via the iPhone App Store or Android Market by searching for “Arizona State Sun Devils”.

Click here to download Android App

Click here to download iPhone App

State Fair exhibit showcases green ideas for home of today

DALLAS — the irony about the Home of Tomorrow at the State Fair of Texas is that everything there is available today. Most of us just don’t know it.”It’s not futuristic, Jetson-type stuff,” said Joe Harberg, former owner of Current Energy in Dallas, who is sponsoring the three-house exhibit.More than 80 area company sponsors collaborated on building the exhibit, which includes an 8-by-20-foot micro-house, a three-room tent featuring green designer touches, and an open patio with a pizza oven and “solar tree” of energy-producing panels.But the centerpiece of the exhibit is the Net-Zero Energy Home, a 1,600-square-foot house built by Scarlett Custom Homes of Frisco that produces its own electricity and sells excess electricity back to a power company. It does this using a solar tree, geothermal heating and air conditioning, a solar-powered water heater, along with insulation, LED lights, triple-pane windows and other strategies to reduce energy consumption.There’s something for everyone at this exhibit, from attic foam to a robotic lawn mower. And be sure to check out recycled materials, like marble countertops, that provide savings on cost and help for the environment.here are some of the most interesting products that you may not know are available.Solar tree: A four-panel array by San Antonio-based Solar Community costs between $5,000 and $6,000 before a 30 percent federal tax credit.This “tree” is actually a series of poles crafted in a tree shape that is design to hold up to 12 solar panels. It is motorized so it can track the sun as it moves through the sky, giving a 40 percent increase in production over solar panels on the ground. A federal tax credit is set to expire Dec. 31, 2016. Solar Community also will lease the tree. More at SolarCommunity.com.Open-cell foam: while the solar tree is cool, most homeowners should start on the energy-efficiency road with better insulation, said Jim Ricks, project specialist with Greenland Energy Dynamics, a consulting firm in Addison. He recommends an open-cell foam from Bayer Material Science that is sprayed into walls during construction and on attic walls and rafters. the white foam kept the Net-Zero home attic at a comfortable 73 degrees this week, when outside temperatures were in the high 80s. Ricks said the foam would save 30 percent on heating and cooling costs, and dust is almost eliminated because the foam coating seals the attic. Cost: $1.70 a square foot.Recycled materials: One of the most popular design elements in the Net-Zero home has been countertops made from recycled marble or quartz combined with polyester resins from Santa Marguerite, an Italian company. Harberg said the product is about a third cheaper than solid granite. Other surfaces on display include recycled rubber floorboards for the porch, walls decorated with refurbished boards from old American farms, and refurbished cabinets painted and outfitted with new hardware.Light-emitting diodes: the Net-Zero house has 81 LED lights, which together use less energy than just five of the old-fashioned 100-watt incandescent bulbs, Harberg said. Although pricey, they have 10 times the life of a traditional bulb, in addition to low energy usage. LED lighting also has improved in color, which is now more white than blue, he said. Cost: $60 a bulb by LALED, a Louisiana-based manufacturer.Energy, water home monitors: These systems monitor water, gas, electric and carbon output in real time and calculate bills. “A monitor is the No. 1 way to get people to stop using resources,” Harberg said. “Watching the monitor becomes an addiction.” Phantom power from unused cellphone chargers, television sets and other connected appliances can total up to 20 percent of your electric bill, he said. Using a monitor, you may want to disconnect those items when not in use. Cost: $2,300 for a system from Greenland that connects with an iPhone.Blown-on limestone: Originally developed in Europe to restore historic buildings, this blend of limestone and other stones and minerals creates a natural surface after being hydraulically blown over a surface. Cost and labor are cheaper than the real stuff. $10 a square foot by StoneCoat, a McKinney company.Geothermal A/C and heating system: the Net-Zero home has a geothermal system that uses about 10 percent of the power of a normal air conditioner, Ricks said.the system requires 300-foot holes to be dug under the house which don’t come cheap — around $2,500 per hole. One hole is required for every ton of A/C needed. the geothermal units themselves cost $5,000 to $7,000 per ton, he said. the 30 percent federal tax credit also applies to these systems.Ductless A/C and heat pump: This 2-ton unit made by Goodman was in the micro-house, where duct work was not practical. with a 13 SEER rating and the latest coolant, it is efficient and practical. the indoor portion of the unit sits high on a wall and is remotely controlled. Cost: $1,333.Robotic lawn mower: This fun, green product operates on sensors and uses lithium batteries (no emissions). It requires no programming or parameter wires. Designed in Italy, LawnBott’s computer reprograms itself to adapt to the cutting requirements of your yard. Cost: $1,119 on Amazon or LawnBotts.comMicrowave drawer: Made by Sharp, this microwave is designed with a drawer that can be pulled out from a waist-high, built-in cabinet for easier access to dishes, especially during cooking. Cost: $800 at Lowe’s Home Improvement.Teresa McUsic’s column appears Fridays.

Looking for comments?

Wireless Engine Interface Works on iPad, iPhone or Any Smart Phone or Tablet

Brookings, OR. (PRWEB) October 11, 2011

Now your custom dashboard can be displayed on any browser-enabled device including the iPad, iPhone, and any Smart phone, tablet or PC thanks to the latest Wi-Fi/Ethernet network technology Chetco Digital Instruments will have on display for those attending the SEMA show 2011 in Las Vegas on Nov. 1-4.

Chetco Digital Instruments, an innovative automotive and marine instrumentation company which specializes in analog to digital gauge and switch conversion devices, has created an enhanced Wi-Fi network adapter with a remarkably small footprint ( 4″ X 2″ X 2″ and a power draw of less then 500mA) that enables users to see all of their engine performance and navigation data on a device such as an iPad or a Smart phone.

“We have designed a microprocessor-based system that creates a user friendly touchscreen PC or wireless browser-based viewing platform,” said Chetco Digital Instruments Chief Technical Officer Joe Burke. “This new platform brings LAN/Cloud computing to automotive and marine systems monitoring.”

And all of this is available without the need for dedicated “apps,” allowing users to view automotive data from practically all of their browser-enabled devices. Since Chetco Digital Instrument’s new wireless products come with 802.1 b/g Wi-Fi interface and built in Web server, users can design their own display views using simple HTML programming or choose from a range of predefined themes the company provides via the proprietary vDash™ software.

Chetco Digital Instruments has long been a pioneer of user friendly, easily customizable gauge and switch interface products. High-Bright touchscreen LCD displays and vDash™ software allow automotive enthusiasts to select from hundreds of VDO-style gauge device inputs for their custom displays.

“With this browser-based push technology, users can not only view live engine performance data in real time, they can log the data for later review on a PC using vDash software,” commented Steve James, Chetco Digital VP Marketing. “Over 20 days of continuous data logging can be downloaded onto a 4 GB memory stick.”

CDI products have been installed in a myriad of automotive and marine applications including street racing vehicles, custom classic cars, racing diesel trucks, long haul trucks, locomotives, luxury yachts, tractors and racing boats.

The company will also be displaying the Apogee Power line of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries for use as power backup for gauge and display systems. These batteries are also used as replacement starter batteries (SLI) replacing lead acid. These batteries offer greater than 8 year useable life, long storage life, improved fuel efficiency and significant emission reductions.

All products can be viewed at Booth# 11675.

iPhone 4S vs Droid Bionic: Comparison of Specs and Features

Like us on Facebook

The Motorola Droid Bionic has an 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus and dual LED flash, as well as a front-facing camera for video chats. the camera can shoot HD videos of up to 1080p. the iPhone 4S also comes with an 8-megapixel, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash camera in the front. it features a VGA front-facing camera. the camera can also shoot HD videos of up to 1080p.

Motorola Droid Bionic comes with a dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, ULP GeForce GPU and Tegra 2 AP20H chipset. the iPhone 4S features 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU and an Apple A5 chipset.

The iPhone 4S comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models. it doesn't support a MicroSD card slot. the Motorola Droid Bionic has 16GB internal storage and another 16GB microSD card preinstalled, which can be expanded to 32 GB.

The iPhone 4S costs $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model. the Motorola Droid Bionic is priced at $299 with a two-year contract from Verizon.

The next few months should see the competition between the iPhone 4S and the Droid Bionic intensifying.

Must Read: iPhone 4S Sold out: Pre-order Record in Memory of Steve Jobs?

Must Read : iPhone 4S Buyers Could be Opting For a Steve Jobs Keepsake must Read : iPhone 4S: Should you buy iPhone 4S or Wait for iPhone 5? must Read : iPhone 4S Sets new Pre-order Record: top 10 Reasons Why you Should get one (PHOTOS)

Must Read: iPhone 5 with 4G LTE: What is Hidden in Sprint's 2012 4G Network Rollout?

iPhone 5 to debut Oct. 4, ATD says

The iPhone 4 has done well, but its replacement looks imminent.

(Credit:Apple)

Apple will debut itsiPhone 5 on October 4, with new Chief Executive Tim Cook leading the show, All Things Digital reported today.

The report, citing unnamed sources close to the situation, said the newiPhone itself would go on sale “within a few weeks” of the announcement.

Rumors have swirled for months about when exactly the new iPhone would arrive, with October looking increasingly likely.

The iPhone 5 carries tremendous significance for Apple. the company faces mounting pressure from the Android realm, with a confusing array of budget-minded and high-end models, but Apple chooses to put many its eggs in many fewer baskets. That’s worked out well for theiPhone 4, though, which has attained mainstream success.

The iPhone 4 has held up well under the competitive pressure. But with the breakneck pace of the smartphone market bringing higher-speed LTE networks, larger displays, NFC payments, and other features, Apple’s flagship phone is starting to look a bit long in the tooth.

The iPhone is important for many other companies besides Apple. Manufacturer Foxconn is said to be making 150,000 iPhone 5 models a day. Accessory makers, too, are champing at the bit, as exhibited by Case-Mate’s premature publication of apparent iPhone 5 cases.

Purported cases for the iPhone show a possible tapered back compared to the blockier iPhone 4 design.

(Credit:Case-Mate/BGR)

Updated at 4:36 a.m. PT to add further background and to correct the launch date in the headline..