Dension has announced ice>Link v1.1 which the manufacturer says is the ultimate solution in high quality iPod vehicle interconnection. ice>Link takes the place of your external CD Changer and it operates like one. iPod starts when CD changer is�selected on a supported factory or aftermarket radio, and paused when other source is selected. Track control from radio and steering wheel controls are provided.
ICE>Link v1.1 allows cross platform compatibility and effortless migration from classic to 3G or mini iPods without having to replace the entire ICE>Link unit. Even better, you can use all generations by simply using the appropriate connectors.��
Dension lists the following supported vehicles:
AUDI
BMW / Mini
Chrysler cars
Ford cars
GM cars
Honda / Accura
Jaguar
Landrover
Lexus
Mazda
Mercedes
Nissan / Infiniti
Porsche
Saab
Scion
Subaru
Toyota
Volkswagen
Volvo
Dension lists the following supported aftermarket makes:
Pioneer
Panasonic
Sony
Kenwood
Blaupunkt
Alpine M-Bus compatible (not AI net!)
Grundig
ICELink v1.1 for iPod now features interchangeable connection options to support all current iPod models – classic, 4G, 3G and mini.
More info here.
MacDailyNews Take: We still want head units that accept iPods like they would an 8-Track tape: stick in the iPod, dock-connector first, and it can be controlled from the head unit and/or the steering wheel while simultaneously charging the iPod’s battery. What’s taking so long?!
Related MacDailyNews article:
Apple request: we need the Apple ‘iBox’ and ‘iPodCar’ products now – August 07, 2003
I’m with MDN on this one
the alpine unit sounds ok tho, if it ever comes out
No chance of getting one for my new Kawasaki then?
This is old news. I’ve had an ICELink v.1.1 in my car for about a month now and was “jonesing” for it long before that…roughly a year and a half.
When are they going to add pause & random-play control from the head unit and song information display on the head unit? Other than those missing features, I love the product.
Only SOME of the cars listed as supported are really supported. For example, my 2002 Honda S2000 is not supported while later S2000’s are. And Civics are not supported at all.
Check the iceLink list more carefully before getting excited. They seem to have done a good job of preventing users being able to purchase online if users don’t have the correct model or year.
MDN, You wouldnt want your iPod getting stuck in a slot, now would you?
Or worse yet, accidentally forgetting it was there and having it stolen (and then have to pay for the broken window)… but that could happen with the other adapters, now, too… except those that can be hidden away in a locked glovebox or trunk.
I doubt that’s ever going to happen. It’s much easier and safer for audio manufacturers to just change a cable/connector than a whole head unit.
Why would anyone want to buy a new car stereo everytime you buy a new iPod with a changed Apple Connector???
Apple has a history of changing connectors. They did it with the iPod already between the second and third generations. We’re on the 4th, so if history repeats itself, we may get a new connector on the 5th.
Other examples: FireWire 400 versus 800 (really stupid – we don’t need FireWire to become another SCSI – even Intel got it right with USB 2, or maybe they just thought ahead with USB 1.1).
With Video/Monitor support it was proprietary, then open (VGA). then proprietary (ADC), then open (DVI). Don’t get me started…
Re garding head units – Not much advantage for me. I’d rather have the iPod in the trunk or under the seat. Much less conspicuous that way.
-b
Hey, if I click on iTunes ad, do I have to buy Kelly Clarkson or if I buy anything after clicking on it will I support MDN?
I’m with MDN on this one. Right now I have a perfect place waiting right in my stereo: the cassette slot. It’s just about the right size and it would be so nice to just shove the iPod in there and then use the head unit controls to navigate. The unit already has a screen at least as big as the iPod’s.
Now if I just had a couple of mill in developement money lying around and knew anything about electronics…
And as Bob C said: despite the fanfare, the ice-Link coverage is rather limited and very patchy. For my own vehicle, it’s only compatible with an optional 3rd-party upgrade, not with any of the OEM stereos.
things that are too expensive… these. *yawn*
Actually, it will work fine in my Audi (and I, too, have been jonesing for one, though I have a hard time justifying spending $600 and losing my CD player).
I agree with MDN, I’d love a head unit that worked that way. Better still, a stereo that “synced” with my iPod so I could plug it in and it would dowload the music from my iPod. Then I could safely put my iPod away.
What about my mountain bike? Can I get an attachment for that?
Or my ’76 mazda… huh? c’mon! Support the masses.
>MacDailyNews Take: We still want head units that accept iPods like they would an 8-Track tape: stick in the iPod, dock-connector first, and it can be controlled from the head unit and/or the steering wheel while simultaneously charging the iPod’s battery. What’s taking so long?!
What’s taking so long? Well, it’s far from a good idea.
The portable music industry – iPod and the like – is still very young! Putting an iPod inside a player forces a company to stand behind a proprietary piece of equipment. Even withing its own line, the iPod changes enough to warrant slight redesigns – size, dimension, weight.
Here’s something you haven’t thought of: How much physical space will an 8-track iPod take up in the already-crowded interior of head units?
The more realistic approach is to incorporate some sort of communication protocol between the portable player and the head unit. That way, the head unit can support protocols rather than having to commit to a single product, a single company, and a small amount of sales.
Buy a head unit just to support an iPod?!
MDN, you bend over too far for Apple! I hope it pays well.
——
Work on supporting a communications protocol, transmitted via WiFi/Bluetooth. C’mon folks, free your minds! Think!
>MacDailyNews Take: We still want head units that accept iPods like they would an 8-Track tape: stick in the iPod, dock-connector first, and it can be controlled from the head unit and/or the steering wheel while simultaneously charging the iPod’s battery. What’s taking so long?!
What’s taking so long? Well, it’s far from a good idea.
The portable music industry – iPod and the like – is still very young! Putting an iPod inside a player forces a company to stand behind a proprietary piece of equipment. Even withing its own line, the iPod changes enough to warrant slight redesigns – size, dimension, weight.
Here’s something you haven’t thought of: How much physical space will an 8-track iPod take up in the already-crowded interior of head units?
The more realistic approach is to incorporate some sort of communication protocol between the portable player and the head unit. That way, the head unit can support protocols rather than having to commit to a single product, a single company, and a small amount of sales.
Buy a head unit just to support an iPod?!
MDN, you bend over too far for Apple! I hope it pays well.
——
Work on supporting a communications protocol, transmitted via WiFi/Bluetooth. C’mon folks, free your minds! Think!
My Toyota hybrid Prius has the in-dash LCD display. I’m holding off for the product which includes my preferred feature: I wish to have the song and artist info displayed, not just ‘Track 01’, etc…
We still want head units that accept iPods like they would an 8-Track tape: stick in the iPod, dock-connector first, and it can be controlled from the head unit and/or the steering wheel while simultaneously charging the iPod’s battery. What’s taking so long?!
And to think just a year ago despair was the rule for us Mac users.
“The Mac is dead!!”
LOL
Re garding head units – Not much advantage for me. I’d rather have the iPod in the trunk or under the seat. Much less conspicuous that way.
-b
My take:
1. Add wireless capability to the iPod (as well as other players).
2. Add wireless capability to head units.
3. There… it’s finished.
More elegant.
More useful.
More stylish.
…and better than an 8-track!
My take:
1. Add wireless capability to the iPod (as well as other players).
2. Add wireless capability to head units.
3. There… it’s finished.
More elegant.
More useful.
More stylish.
…and better than an 8-track!
Actually MDN the Alpine iPod adaptor is being stocked as we speak. It’s available to buy here in the UK with a 2 week delivery time. In fact most car audio giants are doing deals where you get it half price with any AL-NET head unit.
The Alpine solution is teh ONLY one as far as I’m concerned. It is the only solution that provides FULL control of your iPod from the head unit. You can select individual songs by artist/genre/album and browse playlists.
The denison systems are ugly and crude, you might as well use an iTrip for all the good it does.
Mac & PC Guy:
Here’s why I think a unit such as MDN suggests would be something I would be interested in:
The portable music industry – iPod and the like – is still very young! Putting an iPod inside a player forces a company to stand behind a proprietary piece of equipment. Even withing its own line, the iPod changes enough to warrant slight redesigns – size, dimension, weight.
Any good engineer would realize that the best way to accomplish this is to use their own standard connection on the inside for all units, then use a secondary adapter mount tailored for each model of iPod. The adapter mounts would simply be a single piece of plastic with an iPod connector inside them, and the company’s standard connector at their bottom, and would fit snugly inside the main unit. that would bring the overall cost of manufacture down greatly — even if the audio company did not manufacture their own custom adapter for, say, a 1G iPod, iPod accessory companies such as Marware or Xtrememac could probably make their own, since we’ve now gone from something as complicated to manufacture as a car stereo to something less complicated that an iPod cradle.
Here’s something you haven’t thought of: How much physical space will an 8-track iPod take up in the already-crowded interior of head units?
They make 8-track iPods now? My iPod is smaller than an old 70’s 8-track tape, so I imagine it would take up as much space as, well, an iPod. (If I had a Mini, it would take up even less!) Using my adapter idea, I assume the entire slot would be slightly larger than a 1G iPod — about 3 inches by 1 inch.
Now, could you fit for the iPod slot AND a CD player lot into a SINGLE car rack space? Maybe not. Most cards do have the capability for a double-height unit. If not, I guess I’d choose to give up the CD player, since all of my CDs are already on my iPod.
Continued in part 2…
The more realistic approach is to incorporate some sort of communication protocol between the portable player and the head unit. That way, the head unit can support protocols rather than having to commit to a single product, a single company, and a small amount of sales.
Buy a head unit just to support an iPod?!
Work on supporting a communications protocol, transmitted via WiFi/Bluetooth. C’mon folks, free your minds! Think!
That would be all well and good, but here’s why I like the idea of snapping my iPod into a slot: IT WOULD TAKE LESS THAN A SECOND to become operational.
Way, way back when, I had a cassette player in my car and bought a Sony “Car Discman” (which meant a CD Walkman that came bundled with a cassette adapter). When I got into my car, I had to put the get the Discman out of the case I used to carry it, unravel the cassette adapter audio cord, plug one end into the Discman, plug the other end into the cassette adapter, unfurl the power cord, plug one end into the Discman, plug the other end into the cigarette lighter, put in a CD, turn the power on on the cassette player, and hit the play button on the Discman. (I could have skipped the power cord step if I wanted to keep paying for batteries, which I didn’t.)
When I got an in-car CD player, the procedure became one step: Put the CD into the player’s slot. It turns itself on, sucks in the CD, and begins to play it. And I don’t have to worry about batteries.
Right now my iPod connection is pretty much along the same lines as the cassette adapter, including connecting the FireWire-to-cigarette-lighter cable if I don’t want to worry about the battery. I would LOVE a solution that takes as little effort AND AS LITTLE TIME as I now have playing a CD in the CD player. It’s a lot of seconds of my life futzing with things when i just want to drive off and get where I’m going, and I would gladly pay to reduce it to about a second or so.
And as for Bluetooth — my wife just bought a Palm Tungsten, and I set it up with iSync last night via Bluetooth. Talk about battery drain! If Bluetooth takes up that sort of power, well, iPod batteries get enough of a bad rap without introducing Bluetooth and cutting their time down to a third.
So, MDN, I’m in your corner. I agree –what’s taking so long?
Even easier (but far less likely to happen) – just sync the iPod with your head unit containing a hard drive. With the size of hard drives these days, not much room is needed to store one of these things.
Apple ought to just make a head unit with a partner. Sync your iPod with your iHeadUnit with the same software as your iPod and be done with it. Or just plug the iPod directly into the face plate. Provide the same outputs as any other head unit and your good to go with your quaint old CDs in the changer, too.
One thing they don’t tell you about with this product is the drain the ICE-LINK adapter places on your car battery. It may not be much but if like me you can at times leave your car idle for a month or more, then their may not be enough juice left for the engine to turn over.. I’ve found this out to my cost !!!
This has to be a design floor, but it;s still the best product out there..