Looks like Empeg has some competition. I think the Empeg is still way cooler (the custom display helps plus Empeg is its own unit meaning it can do more) but this is not a bad alternative. I wish they had built their own headunit so they could give you a custom experience like Empeg, but I think this is good competition, nevertheless. Maybe in the process everyone's products will get better - PhatNoise already has better industrial design.

Marketing fluff below

What happened when a bunch of electrical-engineering students at UCLA got totally frustrated about the limited options they faced when they wanted to bring digital audio from their computers into their cars? Well, two guys took the matter into their own hands and converted their apartment into a working lab — and the company PhatNoise was born. Their premier system includes the PhatBox, a portable plug-and-play unit controlled by your car stereo's source unit. It plays music stored on the PhatCart, a palm-sized cartridge that stores the equivalent of 100 albums. The PhatBox can be installed into systems in places where a CD changer might go. ($499; 310-785-0397; www.phatnoise.com)