Summary

This section contains field notes on the following themes:

I've included notes from trips to Best Buy, Frys and specialty car audio shops to see what was on the shelves and talk to the sales people.

Satellite Television

Serena Love writes notes from the 'field': Sunday, May 30, 2005

This really took me by surprise. I was not expecting to find the technology for tv in the car just yet.

http://www.kvh.com/Products/Product.asp?id=79

125 channels of Direct TV straight into your car (because you obviously don't get enough of it at home that you need it in your car, too). It is a disk that is roof-rack mounted, thus not really suited to cars (SUV's etc.). Rebecca and I spent some time talking with the salesman to ask him who is buying this, at $4000-$5000 installed. Apparently, it is not just parents looking to keep their kids occupied (and quiet) for long-haul journeys. It is also the young kids pouring thousands of dollars into their cars, 'souping them up', with cutting edge technology. Apparently, it is no longer 'cool' just to be able to play DVD's anymore; satellite tv is it! And the system is fully integrated to play with CD's, MP3's, DVD's and gaming systems.

Here is their broucher: Document IconSatellite tv.pdf

They are targeting RV's, SUV's and even boats. The salesman told me that he sold quite a few to Limo companies.

I (Rebecca) just ran across this article, which makes mobile tv perhaps even simpler than satellite (and presumably less expensive). British telecom and virgin mobile are working together to provide "live, digital television service" to cell phones. it sounds like the technology they have been using only allows a limited number of phones to get the stuff at a single time on a limited number of channels, but the new tech would allow an infinite number of phones to get any channel they like.

http://www.reuters.com/audi/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=8680396

the company website goes into a little more detail on why they think people will want this service, and at the moment, it looks like it would only be available in britain. if it does work, it might be simpler (and cheaper) to have something like this built into your car than a satellite reciever.

http://about.virginmobile.com/about/media/news/corporate/2005/2005-06-02/

Car Audio

Serena Love writes notes from the 'field': Sunday, May 29, 2005

I went into Fry’s looking for a couple of things. First, I wanted to see what sorts of media and technology were being pitched at cars. But I also wanted to see how I would be perceived as a female “shopping” in a male dominated market.

My first stop was car audio. I found several connection kits for the Ipod and other external MP3 players. I also found advertisements promoting Satellite radio (XFM), which was available as external units or installed. Car alarm systems were still being advertised. I spoke to an Southeast Asian American male, under age 23 (at a guess) who told me about the various sound systems that were available. I told him that I was looking to upgrade the stock radio in a 2005 Acura TL, which has DVD sound (my boyfriend just bought one and it is far better than my standard Honda Civic). He told me that the best brand was Alpine but for reason, Fry’s didn’t stock this brand. For the rear passengers, he showed me drop-down DVD systems and in-seat DVD’s. For the front, he showed me a system where a DVD screen would come out of the dash and had a touch screen. All these systems would play DVD videos, CD audio, MP3’s and had attachments for Ipods. We also looked at woofers, amplifiers and speakers but I really don’t know anything about these things and I learned nothing from my informant. When I asked what the difference was between the woofers, he told me that one was bigger than the other and was a greater wattage. I am not sure if this reflected his limited knowledge or if it was a projected bias against my gender, age and/or my ethnicity. What would a white girl like me know about bass?

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These are the sorts of attachments being sold for ipods and other exterior gadgets. The writing on the back of the package was worth noting. It claimed that driving was an "experience" and you don't want the engine noise to interfer with your muisic so this product promised that it was 'quiet'. Several other brands had picked up on this low-noise issue and had integrated it in with is advertising scheme.

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This is the DVD section. There are various drop-down screens and screens that can be embedded into the back of the front seats (like in airplanes). The 'best' system I was recommended was the JVC not for its size but for its quality. And it has a touch screen.

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This one is scary to me. It is a DVD touch screen that pops out of the front dash, meaning that the driver can watch a DVD. It can operate while the car is in motion, which in my mind is worse than people talking on the phone while they drive. Maybe I misunderstood; the technology is cool but the practicality of it is frightening.

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XFM is the new satellite radio. It is being sold as an external device and integrated into your existing car audio system. It works best if there is DVD sound in the car already. My boyfriends new 2005 Aucra TL has this DVD audio and XFM as standard and we love it! There are over 200 channels of commercial-free radio. I've spoken with several people and the 'future' of car audio and what they all want to see is a Tivo-like system where the radio remembers what you like and predicts and recommends preferences. Other people have mentioned a desire to see radio on demand, much like what is available from radio sites like the BBC, where you can choose what program you want to hear and listen to it at your leisure.

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I'm sorry this picture is fuzzy. I was trying desperately not to get caught.

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In my final wanderings through Fry's, I found the GPS units which were sold mainly as exterior units. No one would talk to me there; they all looked too busy and wouldn’t make eye contact with me. I did not see any integrated navigation systems. Sorry, I could not get any photos of this because someone was watching me.

Similar thing happened in the games section. I wanted to know if there were any car hook-up for Xbox and the other video game units but I did not manage to find anyone to talk to and the children playing the sample games irritated me enough that I did not want to hang around any longer. Given the amount of shouting these kids were doing, it surprises me that someone would want to put a video game unit in the car unless they had soundproof glass between the children and the driver.

Serena Love writes notes from the 'field': Monday, May 30, 2005

Today, Rebecca and I went into a few stores and had a much better time of it. Our first stop was Best Buy where we were told a very similar story to yesterday but the way in which we were treated was much better. The sales person was still a young man (25 and under) and there were no other women in sight. I was actaully taken seriously as a buyer, which was very different than yesterday's expereince at Fry's. I asked about how to enhance the exisiting sound system on an Acura TL, my boyfriends's car (I use his system as a baseline since the sound system in my 2001 Civic hardly qualifies as a 'sound system'). We were told to buy woofers, amplifiers and speakers. The TL has DVD sound already so I wanted to see what he would sell me to support it. Again, I was told that there is no existing system to integrate an ipod but I could get a variety of wires and plugs, etc. The TL also has satellite radio and a built in navigation system so I would be unable to buy a DVD pop-up screen for the front but I looked into getting one installed in the back headrests. Those looked great! They also inetrgate with most gaming systems, so it looks like it is an all in one deal. Here are a few quick snaps:

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I guess one of the more amusing aspects of talking to this man was his comment about how much bass I wanted. He asked me if I wanted to annoy the neighbors or if I just want good quality sound. I enjoyed that; I liked having that as an option.

I picked up some literature today when I was going through the various stores and found a full color ad for Clarion. I surfed their website today and found some pictures of 'souped up' cars. Check out what people are doing to their interiors. I like the DVD screen in the visor- that is the best one I've seen so far!

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Satellite Radio

There are two competing satellite radio companies. One is XFM: http://www.xm-radio-satellite.com/

And Sirius is the other: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1018209032790&flash=flash

My informant told me that Sirius is selling slightly better because when Howard Stern left public radio for Satellite, he went to Sirius so his fan base followed.

They also have portable devices that you car mount in your car, use at home or take with you like a walkman radio. https://home.sirius.com/webDUWI/HomePage.aspx

The Pioneer website had a whole pile of options:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/article/0,,2076_15019786_232689461,00.html

Navigation Systems

Some cars are putting this as a standard. The Toyota Prius has one, as does the Acura TL (which, I must admit, was what sold my boyfriend on his new car- he deliberately chose the TL because of the Nav. system and uses it even if we go to the grocery store.) But check these out (from Clarion):

http://www.clarion.com/usa/innovation/index.html

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Pioneer sells a product called "it knows" for people who are really lost and rely on technology to get them to their destination. It even monitors the traffic situation for you. http://www.pioneer-itknows.com/

This was the best product that I saw: one system plays music, watch DVD's AND acts as a GPS navigation system. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7049614&type=product&id=1108124657860

Here is the full range of what is offered at Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?navLevel=4&type=category&navHistory=cat00000%2Bcat03000%2Bcat03064&id=cat03098

Entertainment

By far, this was the most impressive thing I found this weekend. This is N.I.C.E being sold by Clarion and it reserves 10 GB of its hard drive for the sole purpose of entertainment, with a USB 2.0 port. Awesome!

http://www.clarion.com/usa/innovation/index.html

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This is how it is being pitched on the website: "There's so much to like about Clarion's new N.I.C.E. system. Besides being a full-featured navigation unit, this transportable solution also provides a host of entertainment options, such as MP3 and video playback, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio. So, take N.I.C.E. for a spin."

"Half the unit's 20GB Hard Drive is reserved solely for the purpose of entertainment. Utilizing its built-in USB 2.0 port, you can plug N.I.C.E. into a personal computer and download MP3, WMA and WAV music files. You can also connect N.I.C.E. to a digital camera to transfer personal photos. Once stored, you can select the "Photo" icon to watch a slideshow, or hit the "Music Playback" icon to play your music files through your existing sound system via the unit's built-in FM transmitter."

Alpine was sold to me at Fry's and Best Buy as being the best sound quality there was.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/

On their website, you can customise your system from the ground up, including music, DVD and a navigation system.

Autostart

I don't know if this will really catch on or not but it was all over the stores. These systems advertise to secure and start your car from a remote.

http://www.autopageusa.com/

http://www.avital.com/products/ap_as4s.htm

i (rebecca) would like to add, i would have paid a VAST sum of money to have an auto start at home. it's not a big deal here, but living in the frozen north, it is awesome to be able to start the car and let it sit- that way, you have an easier job getting the snow off, maybe ten minutes instead of fifteen. plus, on less snowy but still cold days, you can turn it on and not have to sit inside waiting until it's warm enough to drive, which is a good ten minutes in the freezing cold. they may not catch on in the rest of the country, but now that i know they're available after-market, you can be damn sure i'll never live in a snowy place without one again!

Discussion

Posted at May 30/2005 03:15PM:
zaslow: Fascinating field info. As to the driver DVD player--I've been wondering about issues of physiology/safety. I remember when cell phones first became widely used, a number of municipalities tried, and failed, to ban/limit their in-car use. Will the same attempts be made vis-a-vis these new technologies? Will they succeed? Fail? Will we end up with a road system that has not only speed limits but media limits?

As to the problem of noise and video games, today's New York Times had an interesting article on new noise cancellation technologies. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/technology/30hillis.html?oref=login

Posted at May 31/2005 01:42PM:
David Platt: Heh. With regards to the "safety" issue: several years ago, a slight acquaintance was pulled over by a traffic cop for a reading a book at the wheel ... It's not only new mobile media that can cause "problems" at the wheel.

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