... ok, and again another piece of informaion, if anybody is interested. For some reason, I assumed this iPod controlling head units were simlpy letting the iPod decode the MP3s, get the "line" audio output through the USB connection, and amplify it. Instead, it seems that the Alpine (and, I guess, other recent headunit using the latest iPod USB connetion) actually get the bit stream off the ipod an then use their own decoder.
Did you guys know? And, do you agree/ think it is possible? I was just told by my installer as I could not figure this out from the Apline's user manual.
This is great, i think. Also, it makes sense since the Alpine must anyway decode mp3s when reading them from usb pendrives.

Also, I read on the manual that the Alpine is MTP compatible, which is the reason why I assum it is compatible with Zune as well. Some googling did not give me a definitive answer, but I would assume so. If so, I wonder wether album art is also shown on the display. If so, I am guess this Alpine is no more iPod compatible than it is Zune or any aother MTP portable device.