In the spirit of keeping up with the lastest in mp3 car audio...no matter how much of a hack it sounds like, I give you Alpine's IPOD head unit. Actually, kidding aside, this could be a decent system for some people if it works right.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1433411,00.asp

LAS VEGAS--Alpine Electronics of America Inc. demonstrated car audio head units that are capable of connecting to and controlling Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod player.

With a one-cable connection to selected 2004 Alpine in-dash receivers, iPod users will be able to operate key playback features from the Alpine receiver's buttons, the company said. Playlists, album, artist and song title text will appear on the head unit.

Alpine's system works with an interface box that uses the iPod Accessory Protocol allowing audio and control signals to be sent over the Ai-NET system bus to the in-dash receiver.

The iPod Ready Interface kit will be available later this summer.

Sounds fairly good... wonder how the interface will be though...........

I can't believe no one has come out with a head unit that has a fold down face, CD slot, and a slot for an iPod. Like a removable hard drive slot. Just flip down the face, slot in the iPod, and interface through the headunit. Man that would be the killer combo.

I can't believe no one has come out with a head unit that has a fold down face, CD slot, and a slot for an iPod.

Dension already did it, but with their own portable HD player rather than an iPod.

The key is the iPod. With it's popularity, a compatible head unit seems like it would do well. I guess a big problem would be the different sizes of the various iPod models.

Having the dock in the head unit itself takes up a load of valuable space inside the head unit. Also, it adds to the variants massively, requiring more design for each compatible model, meaning it is likely to be on less models.

Having the dock external to the head unit means the interface could be made much more universal and compatible with lots of head units, possibly without mods on some (maybe with reduced functionality).

Then you could keep the CD in the head unit as well, without compromising on performance.

It also means you can cope with different portables (iPod, minipod, or whatever) with a suitable connector and minimal changes.

Nick

Even just a compartment inside the HU where you can plug the unit in and then slide it into a foam enclosure. The space inside the HU could be a standard size (biggest unit available) then you could have different "sleeves" that would fit into the big HU space. Add a retractable firewire/usb2 cable and you'd be set to become backwards compatable. The Ipod/Karma/Dell DJ are all small enough that they would fit into 1/2 of the space of a typical DIN slot. The other half could be stacked electronics that would provide the display and control. After you've slid your portable into the slot, flip down the cover (display and controls built into the cover) and it looks like a normal head unit, with added shock protection for your player. Never have to worry about your player bouncing around in a dash slot or on top of the dash.

Actually, this could be a pretty cool aftermarket item. Someone could sell one unit that would fit all the players, just with different adapter cables and foam sleeves. Remember, you heard it here first! Anyone want to start a business