LAS VEGAS —
Alpine is expanding its selection of
Pandora-controlling head units to four models from one,
launching its first A/V-navigation unit with built-in HD Radio,
and bringing out an entry-level amplifier line.
At North Hall meeting room N101,
Alpine will also show its first three
head units with Sirius XM’s new universal
connector, which will be offered
later in the year by at least one
other autosound supplier. The DIN
connector connects directly to a
new outboard XM tuner and makes
it unnecessary to install a separate
protocol-translator box and a separate
power wire for the tuner. The development
is hailed by Alpine as a “big
breakthrough in ease of purchasing
and installation.”
The new satellite tuner delivers new features already
available in some radio transportable plug-and-play satellite
tuners. The new features include song alerts, game
alerts, iTunes Tagging and embedded memory to pause
a program.
The three head units with universal Sirius XM connector
are the HD Radio-equipped double-DIN INA-W910 A/Vnavigation
system with Pandora control; the CDE-123
CD-receiver with Pandora; and the CDE-124SXM CDreceiver,
which lacks Pandora. Pricing on the three was
unavailable.
The CDE-124SXM will be the only one of the three units
to be hard-bundled with the satellite tuner.
Also in its lineup, Alpine will add two iPod/USB ports to
a head unit for the first time, one for the
front and one for the rear. It appears in
one CD-receiver.
In Pandora developments, Alpine
will reduce the opening price of a Pandora-
controlling head to a suggested
$180 for the new CDE-122 CD-receiver.
It and the other two new Pandora
heads — the INA-W910 nav unit
and CDE-123 CD-receiver — will join
the company’s current Pandora head,
the mech-less $399-suggested iDAX305S.
The latter remains Alpine’s
sole mech-less unit.
All of Alpine’s Pandora-controlling head units connect
via USB to an iPhone to control the Pandora app. Like
before, all control multiple Pandora functions, including
“thumbs up/down,” but the new units add ability to create
custom stations from the dash.
Besides Pandora, the INA-W910 A/V-nav unit adds
other enhancements compared to Alpine’s current model.
New features include built-in HD Radio, iTunes Tagging,
and built-in hands-free Bluetooth.
