I mentioned in an earlier report from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the Parrot Asteroid had turned a few heads with its exciting new approach to the modern car stereo.
It would be fair to say that this is not the only significant advance which we have seen in the in car entertainment industry here, and it is worth taking a couple of minutes to show you how you are likely to be listening to music while driving in the near future.
The big name in internet radio these days is Pandora. They have gone through a couple of difficult years where licensing costs looked like putting an end to the dream of customizable internet radio for all of us.
Luckily they have managed to sort out these problems for the US market and are now looking at the UK as being among the next batch of countries they move into.
So if are you are going to be listening to internet radio in your car what else other than the Parrot Asteroid will you be able to listen to it on? Well, Pioneer are well on the way to introducing smart looking car radios into the UK which will let you listen to internet music as you travel and are showcasing their designs here.
Another option is to buy a new mini, as Pandora and BMW have struck a deal to fit an entertainment system which works by connecting your iPhone to the car’s radio. New Toyotas will also be offering you a similar deal with the Entune system.
It looks like the connected car is going to be huge in the next year or so, and you can expect a lot of news stories on the latest developments and new models hitting the streets. As with any new piece of technology your big decision will be whether to get in at the start and be the first of your friends with a connected car or wait to see if the second generation of models offer improvements and a better price than the ones which are being presented this week. Will you be able to resist the temptation to get your hands on one so quickly, though?
