Mobile Sound

I have always loved hearing music when I’m in my car. Though my car has a wonderful sound system, I still prefer using my MP3. And, because of some important matters, I oftentimes need the use of my mobile phone for calling, even when driving. I just get uncomfortable when manually operating both my phone and my MP3. Because of this, I find it good to know that automakers these days are making ways to find the solution to this problem for as they know, communication gadgets oftentimes cause distraction and lessen the focus of a person who’s driving.

Technology has made most vehicles today more impressive. Just like Ford having the Ford Sync for their models, Audi is revealing its iPhone for theirs and this has been made available throughout the U.S. They say this technology brings about a perfect design. They have made it optional to all Audi model lines. Bluetooth interface is essential for the mobile phone.

As I have known from duemotori.com, music interface is optionally available as extra feature for the Audi A5, A6, A8 and the Q7 models. This feature enhances the convenience of customers in having the pleasure of iPhone music playback function in extreme quality through the in-car sound system.

In addition to this, Audi have also created the Audi MMI for more customer convenience as it promotes easy control over the navigation of music compilation by artist, track title, play lists and genre - just like in operating an iPod.

This is absolutely fascinating. I could imagine myself wallowing in the pleasure brought about by this technology. But, I guess I still need to prioritize an Audi muffler purchase as the old one really needs replacement. I think after that is the best time to provide my vehicle with that iPhone.

It would be wonderful to know some other peoples’ experience with this technology. So, if some of you possess it, I’m sure a lot of people would love to hear or read what you have to say.

Thanks to SIRIUS.com, I got all the information I need! Check out the features of this awesome radio!

• FULL COLOR DISPLAY - 176×220 PIXEL TFT display, 262K colors, Channel logos & wallpapers
• “Love” SIRIUS CONTENT
• Save up to 50 hours of your favorite tracks. Save individual songs and programs, then sort and replay by artist, title or genre.
• MY SIRIUS CHANNELS
• Let the SIRIUS S50 do the work for you with My SIRIUS Channels: it automatically learns your favorite channels and captures programming from your 3 most listened to music channels.
• REPLAY
• Use the Media Dial, or simply turn/tilt your S50 to pause, rewind and fast-forward, your favorite 100% commercial-free music, news, talk and sports programs.
• MY PLAYLISTS
• Bring your own MP3 or WMA library (when docked to PC) via USB cable. Combine audio files to make customized playlist.
• Game Alerts - Prompts when your favorite teams are playing
• Sports Ticker - Get up to the minute score updates of your favorite teams without changing the channel
• One touch JUMP to access traffic and weather reports for your city or use to tune to your favorite SIRIUS channel
• 6 hours battery life in portable mode

Here are some of the technical bulletins for the Sirius S50 Radio with car kit courtesy of www.sirius.com once again:

• Sirius has made a few key improvements to the SIRIUS S50 recently to keep the S50 running smoothly and to improve upon some of the S50’s best features. The latest S50 software release is V1.5.6.
• Bookmarking functionality for schedule recording playback. Now you can pick up where you left off while listening to all your schedule recording content after turning the unit off and on again.

The latest masterpiece from SIRIUS will take you right out of boredom and will let you experience a brand that you can call your own! The driving experience will never be the same again! Forget about your brake pads Canada and join me as I introduce the latest from SIRIUS… ladies and gents, the Stiletto 100 SL100-PK1 - your live personal satellite radio!

This cool gadget from SIRIUS is a personal, very powerful, sleek and is completely convenient! The Stiletto 100 lets you experience accessible WiFi networks that is way beyond your imagination! It accumulates SIRIUS’ 100% commercial-free music programming and it can play your favorite MP3 songs and WMA files! And you can go online to search and download your favorite tracks as well.

Check out these features which I got from their rock and rolling website, SIRIUS.com:

Some of the FAQs about the Satellite radio, Replay Buffer and Recording Features:

Q: How do I pause, rewind, and replay during live satellite radio broadcasts?

A: Each time you tune to a new satellite channel, the STILETTO 100 will start saving the most recent 60 minutes of the live satellite broadcast in the replay buffer. Press the Pause button whenever you’re interrupted, then press the Play button to resume where you left off. To skip from song to song in the replay buffer, press the Fast Forward or Rewind Button. To smoothly seek thru songs, press and hold the Fast Forward or Rewind Button - the longer you hold the button, the more quickly the STILETTO 100 will seek thru content.

Q: What kind of recording features does STILETTO 100 provide?

A: While listening to a live SIRIUS Satellite Radiobroadcast, you can save an individual song or show, record a channel for up to 6 hours, or setup a scheduled recording for a program that will be on in the future. STILETTO 100 will also automatically record music from your favorite SIRIUS Satellite Radio channels without you needing to program anything.

Q: Can I record from SIRIUS Internet Radio broadcasts?

A: No. Recordings can only be made from live SIRIUS Satellite Radio broadcasts.

Q: Is there a limit on the amount of individual songs I can record?

A: Yes. You can record up to 10 hours of individual songs from live satellite broadcasts using the (Love) button. When the 10 hour limit is reached, the oldest song will be automatically deleted to make room for the most recently recorded song. All songs you have ever recorded are still available as part of Favorites (see below).

Shoppers, enthusiasts, manufacturers – lend me your ears. Perhaps, by now, you could drop company names by just listening to familiar rings and pings. Basically, the technique is establishing brand signature recognition and retention via sounds, tunes, and the like. This is why automakers turn an ear in an effort to enhance the rings and pings in their lineup.

“When Derrick M. Kuzak became Ford Motor Co.’s global chief for product development in 2005, he didn’t like what he was hearing. It wasn’t hostile car reviews that bothered Kuzak,” BusinessWeek reports. “It was the insipid gong chimes that greeted a potential buyer when the door of a Ford was opened as well as the rickety sound produced when it was shut. So the Ford Taurus hitting the showrooms now has a new latch system that will make a vault-like sound when the door closes. Next year’s Ford Flex SUV will greet drivers with a symphonic door chime.”

“Customers are incredibly attuned to the sounds of quality, but we weren’t, and I think it was costing us,” says Kuzak. The innovations on the Taurus and Flex will be rolled out across the rest of Ford’s lineup over the next three years.

In an industry focused on grabbing shoppers’ eyeballs, automakers oftentimes overlook purchaser’s eardrums, another vital organ to satisfy. What is invisible to the eye is equally essential, that is. Unique and unusual sounds, like a bizarre smell, draw out reactions. These reactions could bolster brand retention more than the conventional marketing campaign. This is the reason why automakers are trying every trick to make their company names sing.

The BusinessWeek has this to say: “The first sonic brand signatures date back to the 1950s. NBC has used its three-chime ID for decades. Intel’s familiar sound logo gave an identity to a complex technology brand few consumers understood. And United Air Lines has found that its longtime use of a snippet of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue translates into trust. Successful sound brands can take on a life of their own. McDonald’s Corp.’s ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ sound bite has been adopted by consumers as a cell-phone ringtone and incorporated into a song by Taiwanese recording artist Leehom Wang.”

The report continued: A sign of the growing importance of sound in the auto industry is that J.D. Power & Associates, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, the parent of BusinessWeek, last year began measuring “pleasantness of sound” for doors, signals, and engine acceleration in its Initial Quality Study. “The door closure and chime is the car’s second impression after exterior design,” says J.D. Power Executive Director Joe Ivers.

Gadgeters are also into sound customization. In the previous year, Samsung unified the boot-up musical sequences of its selected devices, from mobile phones to DVD players. To sell high-end phones, Samsung has been looking at exclusive ringtones from star Korean composers. “The right sound can communicate exclusivity, like flashing a black American Express (AXP ) Card,” says Paul Fulberg, a partner at London-based Sonicbrand Ltd.

A product of the joint force of Ford and Microsoft, this Ford Sync System simply allows you to have hands-free use of mobile phones, digital music players, iPods, car computers and navigation systems. This one is powered with a speech recognition system.

It sounds very convenient, isn’t it? Imagine operating those gadgets without even touching those things. It could even convert text messages into synthesized voice right to even the lazy abbreviations. Hmmm… The first time I’ve seen this online, it made me wonder. Does it also convert your voice into text messages, in reply to what you received? I guessed not. Then, later on, upon browsing more information about it, I have known that it won’t. It would be limited to canned or saved messages, more of a template type, in response. But at least, that’s better than having to type the message away yourself.

This unique system integrates MP3 players and Bluetooth phones to the stereo system for the driver’s flexibility to their digital assets. This system also includes a high-end stereo and navigation system.

The type of music you listen to while driving influence your auto maneuvers. As a fact, road users say listening to music while driving can reduce motorists’ chance of having and meeting accidents.

A survey from Sainsbury’s Car Insurance found that more than four in five drivers believe music helps them to relax while 65% say it keeps them awake. But 14% of those polled reckoned they drove faster while listening to music, while 9% were distracted by it and 6% drove more aggressively.

The findings seem to jibe with DriveSafe organization’s latest survey. The Bolton News reported the organization found that as many as 65% of people reckoned music influenced their behavior while driving.

Around the same number believed listening to certain types of music could cause road rage, the report added. The survey also revealed the following:

• 16 per cent of motorists admitted to initiating a road-rage incident.
• 43 per cent have been a victim of road rage.
• 55 per cent thought men under the age of 25 were the worst offenders
• 70 per cent felt the type of car someone drives can attract more aggression from offenders.
• 62 per cent believed there was not enough attention given in schools to road safety and driver education.

Fay Goodman, of DriveSafe, said: “It’s concerning that so many drivers have been affected by incidences of road rage. Education is key to ensuring drivers are taught not only the skills of how to drive, but also how to behave appropriately. It is essential that learner drivers are taught early on how to drive responsibly on the road.”

Dr. Carol Holland of Aston University, who analyzed the survey, said: “This initial investigation suggests experience and fear of aggression on the roads is a bigger issue than previously thought.”

So choose your music meticulously - it might cost another person his precious life.

There are lots of CD changers available in the market right now, but we can’t say that every one of them have great qualities. I myself find it so hard to look for the best CD changer in the market today. But thanks to the Internet, I can inquire about my choices with no hassles! Of course, I want the best audio system for my car so I have to choose the best CD changer that would complement my Subaru Impreza parts! So what I did is I visited Panasonic’s official web site to browse all of the latest available stuff they have today. And finally, I found something very amazing - it’s the Panasonic CX-DP800 8-Disc CD changer! Sounds cool, right?

Anyway, check out this short overview about the CX-DP800 8-Disc CD changer from panasonic.com/ and who knows, you might be interested to purchase one too! After all, the company claims that this CD changer of theirs “Fits Almost Anywhere”.

The CX-DP880 is exceptionally packed in and will match with many glove compartments. It can even be used under a seat! So you’re not limited to using the trunk for installation as is the case with some less-compact CD changers. Installation is further simplified since you can mount it upright, horizontally, or at three more selectable angles.

The Panasonic CX-DP800 8-Disc CD has an Anti-Shock floating mechanism that lessens CD skipping. Thanks to this CD changer’s floating suspension, there will be no days and nights that you’ll be aggravating because of disc skipping.
It has no more unnecessary pauses when you’ve got empty disc trays. Instead of trying to access a non-existent disc, this CD changer learns which slots are empty and will automatically skip over them, accessing only the CDs that are actually loaded.

This CD changer lets you load up to 8 CDs so you can enjoy hours of uninterrupted music.

Specifications:

• CD-R/RW Playback
• Multi-stage Noise Shaping DAC
• 3-beam Hologram Pickup
• One-chip Digital Circuit
• Learning Skip
• Digital Servo Optical Control
• Anti-shock Floating Mechanism
• Heavy Duty Power Supply Circuit
• Isolated Audio Cable free from control signal noise
• Frequency Response (±1dB): 5Hz-20kHz
• S/N Ratio: 96dB
• THD (1kHz): 0.006%
• Channel Separation (1kHz) 85dB
• Output Level/Impedance 2V/600 ohms
• Dimensions (HxWxD): 1.94”x7”x 6.125”

For those who want a better car audio system, the decision to have the factory unit replaced by a high-end product seems logical. After all, you can enjoy music on a surround sound umpteen-speaker audio system. But the fact of the matter is, there are cons as there are pros to this predicament. Just like buying a hybrid has its own advantages and disadvantages, so is replacing a factory car audio system.

The most obvious is that, it is hard to fit whatever replacement you may have in mind in the dashboard of your car. Factory units are designed to fit in the interface of a certain vehicle’s dashboard. After all, when you buy a car, you’re buying a package. Even that car audio system is part of it and it is designed to enhance the total appeal of the car that you’re buying.

Even if you find a replacement that has similar dimensions to your car’s factory audio unit, it would still look slightly out of place. For it to fit perfectly into the dashboard, you would have to buy a custom installation kit that would cost you about $100.

Another issue that you would have to contend with is the wiring of the audio system. Your new car audio may be more powerful than the factory unit but you are not sure that it will not interfere with other electrical components in your car. It would really be a total waste of money if your car’s electrical system suffers just for better music quality.

Numerous car audio systems are also designed not only to play music but there are other controls incorporated into it. For example, the rheostat may have a knob integrated into your factory car audio unit. Replacing it means that you would have to find a way to retain that switch or the technician at least. This would mean extra charges, of course.

If you are looking to trade off your car after five years or so or whenever you feel the urge to buy a new car, the presence of the replacement audio system would hurt its resale value. Whether you buy a high-end audio system, the fact that the vehicle’s electrical system has already been operated on would make some car buyers to think twice.

While the need/want for better music quality cannot be ignored, the facts stated above are also worth considering. So when buying a car, make sure that you not only gauge the car’s overall performance. For music lovers, give the car audio system a ‘test’ too.