Alpine Electronics Delivers New In-Dash Navigation Solutions

Black Box Module Adds High-Performance GPS Navigation to 2009 Audio/Video Head Units

TORRANCE, Calif., July 14, 2009 – Alpine Electronics of America, Inc., the industry-leading manufacturer of audio and navigation solutions, today introduced the new NVE-M300 GPS Navigation Drive. This high-performance black box navigation module makes it easy to add turn-by-turn navigation functionality to Alpine’s iXA-W404 (see photo) and IVA-W505 Audio/Video (AV) head units. Adding the NVE-M300 to these products results in two unique Audio/Video/Navigation (AVN) solutions.




Consumers can have a $1,000 digital media solution combining the NVE-M300 and the iXA-W404 with its 4.3-inch touch screen that is optimized for iPod/iPhone playback. Alternatively, they can create a $1,550 premium system based on the IVA-W505 with its 7-inch touch screen and DVD capability.

The NVE-M300 is a compact, external navigation drive. Measuring only 4 3/8 in. x 4 1/8 in. x 1 in., it is designed to be professionally installed and mounted in a hideaway location, such as behind the dash. Once connected, the NVE-M300 adds a fully integrated navigation experience to Alpine’s two top selling AV head units.

The NVE-M300 features Alpine’s innovative OnPoint™ Advanced GPS Positioning to deliver a better navigation experience. OnPoint ensures that vehicle’s icon stays accurately positioned on the map, even in areas where it’s difficult to receive GPS reception, such as in a tunnel, around tall buildings or under heavy foliage. OnPoint simultaneously uses three technologies – satellite-linked GPS data, solid-state gyro sensor technology (to determine the vehicle’s direction) and accelerometer technology (to gauge the vehicle’s speed) – to deliver improved performance.

A simple and intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) combined with voice guided driving directions make the NVE-M300 easy to use. Big, bright icons and large buttons provide easy identification of commands or maneuvers. Assistive mapping visuals display essential driving information such as One-Way Street icons for clear notification of one-way streets, and Highway Junction View for maneuvering complex interchanges. Text-to-speech technology is used to announce the turn-by-turn driving instructions, including street names, freeway numbers and freeway exit names. All the voice guided driving instructions are delivered through the vehicle’s sound system.

The NVE-M300’s map data is provided from preloaded NAVTEQ® maps of the United States and Canada, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. As well, the module comes with 6 million unique Points of Interest (POIs), which include restaurants, hotels, gas stations, movie theaters and grocery stores.

The NVE-M300 can be customized to match the user’s preference. Color schemes can be chosen from a palette of four map colors and eight menu colors. English, Spanish or French can be chosen as the preferred language. The Dashboard feature can be set up to display trip information such as driving time and average speed.

“With the NVE-M300, we are delivering an improved GPS navigation experience at a lower cost,” said Stephen Witt, vice president, marketing, Alpine Electronics. “The NVE-M300 drive gives customers the opportunity to easily add GPS navigation to their iXA-W404 of IVA-W505 AV head units.”

Pricing and Availability
The NVE-M300 GPS Navigation Drive is available for $450, the iXA-W404 is available for $550 SRI, and the IVA-W505 is available for $1,100 SRI. All three products are available at authorized Alpine dealers.

Latest Top Three mobile phones

Apple iPhone 3G S, Palm Pre and Samsung Jet--these are the latest mobile phones that everyone is looking at now and are top of the list for tech geeks especially.

Let's guess. Do you think those three mobile phones will be available in Korea?

Unfortunately, the answer is no! None of the trio are available in Korea, nor will they be. Apple iPhone has a long history regarding the Korean market. I also discussed those issues several times in my previous posts as well. Now, Apple doesn't have any government or mobile phone hardware specification issues that hold its back from entering the Korean market. Its first-generation iPhone had GSM support and Wi-Fi; its second generation was Wi-Fi; and the third generation, I have to say, local carriers.

The Apple iPhone 3G S will be available in 76 countries through 29 carriers. We all know that Apple tends to ask for something different in the sales schemes of carriers and it may difficult for those carriers to accept the terms. However, that's not an issue anymore. But this still doesn't change the situation in Korea.

We have three local mobile carriers: SK telecom, Korea Telecom and LG telecom. SKT has more than a 50 percent share of the market, followed by KT. LGT isn't servicing WCDMA, so it is not in the race to bring the iPhone into Korea.

KT is the carrier eager to bring in the Apple iPhone to beef up its mobile roadmap to compete with market leader SKT. But it's been a few years already and we are getting tired of what they are doing, as well as the media always spitting out news to the tune of "deal nearly completed, iPhone to be released in Korea next month or sooner, source from KT employee". This annoying teaser keeps rolling around every time Apple announces new iPhones. It was the same situation when the iPhone 3G S was announced even though the Cupertino company never mentioned Korea in its keynote.



What about the Samsung Jet? It is Samsung's latest mobile phone announced at CommunicAsia in Singapore a week ago as a feature phone that's smarter than a smartphone. This is a mobile that has similar or better features and performances. Some of you should know that Korea's smartphone market only just kicked off after Samsung's T-Omnia debuted last year. However, the market is still very limited compared with feature phones.


What about the Samsung Jet? It is Samsung's latest mobile phone announced at CommunicAsia in Singapore a week ago as a feature phone that's smarter than a smartphone. This is a mobile that has similar or better features and performances. Some of you should know that Korea's smartphone market only just kicked off after Samsung's T-Omnia debuted last year. However, the market is still very limited compared with feature phones.


However, I read news that Samsung is planning not to release the Jet into its own homeland. Why? Because the Samsung Jet is targeting the GSM markets, not WCDMA ones like in Korea. Samsung will launch another model which may have similar specs as the Jet but with a bigger LCD such as a 3.5-inch AMOLED. And those enhanced features such as Dolfin, Wi-Fi and DivX player will be removed as well.

This wasn't Samsung's decision apparently. Local carriers have requested for the company to to remove those features from the Jet. That is because the Jet will be positioned between the smartphone and feature phone, but with all the best features from both categories.

Latest i phones

Iphone Application Store

When you select the iTunes Store, you're taken to the App Store main menu, which somewhat resembles the mobile iTunes store in design. You search applications by name and category and you can browse through the lists of Featured applications or the Top 25. There also is a feature for seeing if your purchased applications have any updates.

We purchased a few apps for the iPhone. Downloads over Wi-Fi were pretty quick; most apps took just a few seconds, but keep in mind it will vary by the size of the app. Though you can purchase iTunes songs wirelessly only through a Wi-Fi connection, you can download applications of 10Mb or less over a 3G network and even over EDGE (if 3G isn't available).

Downloads over 3G took about the same time as they did over Wi-Fi, give or take a few seconds, but apps over EDGE are quite pokey. We also purchased applications through the online iTunes (7.7) store. We downloaded Super Monkey Ball and then synced it to our phone--a new applications tab appears under the iPhone menu. The process was quick and painless. What's more, navigation through the online apps store is easy. After loading apps, the icons will appear on the Home screen.

What's most remarkable about the online applications store is the sheer breadth of titles available, many of which take full advantage of the accelerometer. As of this writing, there are 27 pages available in a extensive range of categories. If there is one thing about the iPhone that's to love, it's the App Store--even if not all the applications are keepers and Apple is maintaining strict control over who gets in. Sure, Apple is not the first company to build a phone that takes third-party applications, but like the iPhone itself, the App Store is unique not for what it does, but for how it does it. The process is so easy that we can't imagine having the same experience on a Windows Mobile device. Of course, before you get carried away, remember that some apps are free but others will cost you.

History of the iPhone

The History of the iPhone began with Steve Jobs' direction that Apple engineers investigate touch-screens. At the time he had been considering having Apple work on tablet PCs. Many have noted the device's similarities to Apple's previous touch-screen portable device, the Newton MessagePad. Like the Newton, the iPhone is nearly all screen. Its form factor is credited to Apple's head of design, Jonathan Ive .The first advertisement for iPhone, titled "Hello," aired during the 79th Academy Awards on February 25, 2007 on ABC. The ad features clips from several notable films and television shows over the last seventy years, showing iconic characters answering telephones and saying "hello" or a similar greeting. The iPhone is shown at the end with the caption "Hello. Coming in June."

The commercial was created by TBWA\Chiat\Day, Apple's ad agency since CEO Steve Jobs' return to the company in 1997. TBWA's Media Arts Lab will continue to handle all upcoming advertising for iPhone, much as it has for iPod. On June 3, 2007, Apple released four advertisements that announce a June 29, 2007 release date, and which concluded, "Use requires minimum new 2 year activation plan."; the footnote has since been removed from all four of the ads. A fifth ad featuring YouTube was released on June 21, 2007. All five advertisements feature a voice over describing various iPhone features, demonstrated on-screen. The song "Perfect Timing (This Morning)" by Orba Squara plays in the background.

The first publicly released iPhone 3G ad was first shown at WWDC 2008 Since then, iPhone 3G ads have been similar to those of the original iPhone; however, the background is white and the music used is "You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie" by The Submarines and can be viewed on Apple's website.One iPhone television advertisement was banned in the UK after the Advertising Standards Authority decided that the ad made false claims about the device's ability to access websites, and did not mention limitations in doin

RF connector

An RF connector is an electrical connector designed to work at radio frequencies in the multi-megahertz range. RF connectors are typically used with coaxial cables and are designed to maintain the shielding that the coaxial design offers. Better models also minimize the change in transmission line impedance at the connection. Mechanically they provide a fastening mechanism (thread, bayonet, braces, push pull) and springs for a low ohmic electric contact while sparing the gold surface thus allowing above 1000 reconnects and reducing the insertion force. Research activity in the area of radio-frequency (RF) circuit design has surged in the last decade in direct response to the enormous market demand for inexpensive, high data rate wireless transceivers.

An i phone Demo

iPod-portable media players

iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and launched on October 23, 2001 (2001-10-23).Apple's iTunes software can be used to transfer music to the devices from computers using certain versions of Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems.For users who choose not to use Apple's software or whose computers cannot run iTunes software, several open source alternatives to iTunes are also available.

iTunes and its alternatives may also transfer photos, videos, games, contact information, e-mail settings, Web bookmarks, and calendars to iPod models supporting those features. As of September 2008, more than 173 million iPods had been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling digital audio player series in history.

Bluetooth-an open wireless protocol

Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs). It was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

The art of connecting things is becoming more and more complex every day. In this article, we will look at a method of connecting devices, called Bluetooth, that can streamline the process. A Bluetooth connection is wireless and automatic, and it has a number of interesting features that can simplify our daily lives.

BlackBerry Storm

Podcast

A podcast (not to be confused or equated with Apple Inc's iPod) usually consists of a combination of audio and/or video that is made available for download via syndication. It is this syndication aspect of the delivery that separates a podcast from a file available for download. The files are usually retrieved with software applications (generically known as podcatchers) such as Apple's iTunes so that subscribers can listen at their convenience on devices that have intermittent, slow, or are otherwise lacking Internet access. The podcatcher reads an [RSS] feed (whose entries point to specific podcasts, usually sorted by date) to identify and retrieve the podcast.

Like the term broadcast, podcast can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which the content is syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting. A podcaster is the person who creates the content.

A podcast is syndicated via an RSS feed. This feed enables distribution over the Internet by syndicated download. Though the same content may also be made available by direct download or streaming, a podcast is distinguished from most other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added.

Apple iphone

Apple previewed the next generation operating system for its iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices. In addition to opening up lots of new functionality for developers, users will also be pleased with new additions and more polish.

The event started with an introduction from Apple's Marketing Manager for iPod and iPhone, Greg Joswiak. He detailed some very impressive numbers concerning the iPhone OS ecosystem. 17 million iPhones and some 13 million iPod touches have been sold in the last two years, for a total of over 30 million devices running iPhone OS. There are currently over 50,000 registered app developers, 60 percent of which have never developed for any mobile platform. The App Store currently has over 25,000 apps available, resulting in over 800 million downloads to date.

Next, Senior Vice President of iPhone Software Engineering Scott Forstall came on the stage to detail some of the features and the over 1,000 new APIs available to developers. Developers now have a sanctioned way to sell additional content directly from an app, such as additional levels for a game or e-books for a reader app. Like the App Store, Apple handles all the logistics and keeps a 30 percent cut. Free apps, however, cannot offer this functionality. "Free apps remain free," said Forstall.

Nike+iPod

The Nike+iPod Sports Kit is a device which measures and records the distance and pace of a walk or run. The Nike+iPod consists of a small accelerometer attached to or embedded in a shoe, which communicates with either the Nike+ Sport band or a receiver plugged into an iPod Nano or an iPod Touch 2nd Generation. If using the iPod, iTunes software can be used to view the walk or run history.

The sensor and iPod kit was revealed on May 23, 2006 but for a short time was unavailable for purchase. The kit is able to store information such as the elapsed time of the workout, the distance traveled, pace, or calories burned by the individual wearing the shoes, and display it on the screen or broadcast it through the headphones of an iPod.

The sensor and Sport band kit was announced in April 2008. The kit allows users to store run information without the iPod Nano. The Sport band consists of two parts; a rubber holding strap which is worn around the wrist, and the receiver which resembles a USB key-disk. The receiver displays information comparable to that of the iPod kit on the built-in display. After a run, the receiver can be plugged straight into a USB port and the software will upload the run information automatically to the Nike+ website.

As of August 2008 Nike+ iPod Gym launched- now users can record their workouts on Gym equipment including Life Fitness Treadmills, Cross-Trainers and Upright and Recumbent bikes. Users don't need a Sports Kit for this, they simply plug their iPod Nano into the iPod connector on the cardio equipment in their gym. Nike+ lets a user track this data as cardio miles on the web site.

Solder-joins metallic surfaces

A solder is a fusible metal alloy with a melting point or melting range of 90 to 450 °C (200 to 840 °F), used in a process called soldering where it is melted to join metallic surfaces. It is especially useful in electronics and plumbing. Alloys that melt between 180 and 190 °C are the most commonly used.

The word solder comes from the Middle English word soudur, via Old French solduree and soulder, from the Latin solidare, meaning '‘to make solid’'. Solder can contain lead and or flux but in many applications solder is now lead free.

Tin/lead solders are commercially available with tin concentrations between 5% and 70% by weight. The greater the tin concentration, the greater the solder’s tensile and shear strengths. At the retail level, the two most common alloys are 60/40 Sn/Pb and 63/37 Sn/Pb used principally in electrical work. The 63/37 ratio is notable in that it is a eutectic mixture, which means:

1. It has the lowest melting point (183 °C or 361.4 °F) of all the tin/lead alloys; and
2. The melting point is truly a point — not a range

At a eutectic composition, the liquid solder solidifies as a eutectic, which consists of fine grains of nearly pure lead and nearly pure tin phases, but in no way is it an intermetallic, since there are no tin/lead intermetallics, as can be seen from a tin/lead equilibrium diagram.

PowerDVD-commercial media player-MSLinux

CyberLink PowerDVD is a commercial media player for Microsoft Windows and Linux. The latest version of the software is PowerDVD 8. Several editions of the software are sold including: Ultra, Deluxe and Standard. All editions support the viewing of DVD but only the Ultra edition supports Blu-Ray playback. HD DVD playback is not supported.

The product is distributed via physical install media (CD) or via download from the Cyberlink website. PowerDVD is often bundled with a variety of PC systems and peripherals (particularly optical drives).

HD DVD support was included in some versions of PowerDVD 7 but was removed from PowerDVD 8 because there will be limited new releases in this format as it is no longer supported by any major studio. It can be re-enabled through a workaround. Cyberlink advises users who want to keep HD DVD playback to buy the Ultra editions of PowerDVD 7 and 8 which can be installed together on the same system.

Voice command device

A voice command device is a device controlled by means of the human voice. By removing the need to use buttons, dials and switches, consumers can easily operate appliances with their hands full or while doing other tasks.

The first examples in home appliances are washing machines that allow consumers to operate washing controls through vocal commands, and mobile phones with voice-activated dialing.

Newer VCDs are speaker-independent, so they can respond to multiple voices, regardless of accent or dialectal influences. They are also capable of responding to several commands at once, separating vocal messages and providing appropriate feedback, accurately imitating a natural conversation. They can understand around 50 different commands and retain up to 2 minutes of vocal messages.

PowerVR

PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software intellectual property for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, and associated image processing. In the late 1990s they competed heavily with 3dfx in the 3D accelerator market for desktop PC's and game consoles, but both companies were forced from this market by the rise of OpenGL, Direct3D and the ATI and NVIDIA cards that better supported these technologies.

Since then, the PowerVR technology has been aimed primarily at the low-power market and are now found inside many mobile devices such as palmtops and cellphones. PowerVR accelerators are not manufactured by PowerVR, but instead the IP is licensed to other companies such as NEC, Intel, Freescale, TI, and Samsung.

Microphone

A microphone sometimes referred to as a mike (pronounced /mic) or—more recently—mic, is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, tape recorders, hearing aids, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, in radio and television broadcasting and in computers for recording voice, VoIP, and for non-acoustic purposes such as ultrasonic checking.
A Neumann U87 condenser microphone

The most common design today uses a thin membrane which vibrates in response to sound pressure. This movement is subsequently translated into an electrical signal. Most microphones in use today for audio use electromagnetic induction (dynamic microphone), capacitance change (condenser microphone, pictured right), or piezoelectric generation to produce the signal from mechanical vibration.

Blackberry Enterprise Server

Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) is the name of the middleware software package that is part of the Blackberry wireless platform from Research In Motion.

BES connects to messaging and collaboration software (Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, Novell GroupWise, Zimbra) on enterprise networks to synchronize email and PIM information between desktop and mobile software.

Coincidentally, "bes" also happens to be the Dutch word for "berry".

Previous to v4.0, BES was largely two separate code bases: the 2.2 version for Domino and the 3.6 version for Exchange. In version 4.0 and beyond, much of the code is integrated, but separate distributions still remain for each mail platform.

BlackBerry OS

RIM provides a proprietary multi-tasking operating system (OS) for the BlackBerry, which makes heavy use of the device's specialized input devices, particularly the scroll wheel (1995–2006) or more recently the trackball (September 12th 2006–Present). The OS provides support for MIDP 1.0 and WAP 1.2. Previous versions allowed wireless synchronization with Microsoft Exchange Server's e-mail and calendar, as well as with Lotus Domino's e-mail. The current OS 4 provides a subset of MIDP 2.0, and allows complete wireless activation and synchronization with Exchange's e-mail, calendar, tasks, notes and contacts, and adds support for Novell GroupWise and Lotus Notes.

Third-party developers can write software using these APIs, proprietary BlackBerry APIs as well, but any application that makes use of certain restricted functionality must be digitally signed so that it can be associated to a developer account at RIM. This signing procedure guarantees the authorship of an application, but does not guarantee the quality or security of the code.

BlackBerry

The Blackberry is a wireless hand held device introduced in 1999 as a two-way pager. In 2002, the more commonly known smart phone BlackBerry was released, which supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. It is an example of a convergent device. Developed by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), it delivers information over the wireless data networks of mobile phone service companies. BlackBerry first made headway in the marketplace by concentrating on e-mail. RIM currently offers BlackBerry e-mail service to non-BlackBerry devices, such as the Palm Treo, through the BlackBerry Connect software. The original BlackBerry device had a monochrome display, but all current models have color displays.

While including PDA applications (address book, calendar, to-do lists, etc.) as well as telephone capabilities on newer models, the BlackBerry is primarily known for its ability to send and receive e-mail wherever it can access a wireless network of certain cellular phone carriers. It has a built-in QWERTY keyboard, optimized for "thumbing", the use of only the thumbs to type. System navigation is primarily accomplished by a scroll ball in the middle of the device (older devices used a track wheel on the side). Some models (currently, those manufactured for use with iDEN networks such as Nextel and Mike) also incorporate a Push-to-Talk (PTT) feature, similar to a two-way radio.

SIM Lock Removal

While initially iPhones were only sold on the AT&T network with a SIM lock in place, various hackers have found methods to "unlock" the phone; more recently some carriers have started to sell unlocked iPhones. More than a quarter of iPhones sold in the United States were not registered with AT&T. Apple speculates that they were likely shipped overseas and unlocked. AT&T has stated that the "iPhone cannot be unlocked, even if you are out of contract".

On November 21, 2007, T-Mobile in Germany announced it would sell the phone unlocked and without a T-Mobile contract, caused by a preliminary injunction against T-Mobile put in place by their competitor, Vodafone. On December 4, 2007, a German court decided to grant T-Mobile exclusive rights to sell the iPhone with SIM lock, overturning the temporary injunction. In addition, T-Mobile will voluntarily offer to unlock customers' iPhone after the termination of the contract.

On carriers where removal of the iPhone's SIM lock is allowed, the carrier can submit a request to Apple which will then remove the carrier locking on the next restore of the iPhone through iTunes. Note that in certain countries, where unlocked phones are required to be available by law, the iPhone is sold without a contract and without a SIM lock; on average, such units carry prices of US$700+ for the 8 GB model. Examples include Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, and Russia. In Australia, all three carriers (Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone) will also provide an unlock after requesting it from the carrier.