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Car Electronics Firms Serve Up Products At SEMA

LAS VEGAS —

Things looked good for the SEMA
Show, held last week by the Specialty Equipment Market
Association.

The show racked up more paid
registrations, more exhibitors and
more show floor space than last
year, and mobile electronics suppliers
such as Clarion, Audiovox,
Rosen, Kicker and Rockford Fosgate
turned out with new products.

The association counted more
than 135,000 paid registrations,
including more than 60,000 buyers
and 1,950 exhibiting companies,
up 10 percent from last year,
a spokesperson told TWICE.
The show boasted more than 950,000 square feet of
space, also up 10 percent from the prior year.

At the event:

• Audiovox unveiled new Advent-branded OE-look
navigation systems for the Toyota Venza and Prius.

• Clarion unveiled its first Pandora-controlling head
unit.

• Omega Research and Development introduced
new Excalibur remote-start systems.

• Cobra Electronics announced
the availability of iRadar
Community in its iRadar app.

• Escort demonstrated its new
Escort Live real-time notification
network app.

• Rockford Fosgate unveiled
its first OEM audio system
for the motorcycle and power
sports vehicle niche with the
show launch of the Tanom Motors
Invader TC-3 reverse trike.

• Rosen unveiled multiple
expediter-targeted products, including
the company’s first Ford
Sync-ready OE-fit navigation system and a modular
headrest entertainment system with DVD and iPod/
iPhone dock.

• Scosche Industries took the wraps off a line of
budget-friendly speakers.

• And Vizualogic showed its SmartLogic Android rearseat
entertainment headrest
monitors.

Here’s more about the product
launches. (For more on
accessories launched at the
show.)

Audiovox

added to its Advent
brand of OE-style multimedia
navigation systems for
the Toyota Venza and Prius.

The Toyota Venza and Prius
OE head units include built-in
navigation with Navteq U.S. and
Canada maps with 11 million points of interest
and 3D landmarks. They also have built-in
Parrot Bluetooth with external Parrot microphone;
7-inch touchscreens; and are
Made for iPhone/iPod and XM-ready.
The rearview camera features Instanton
technology. A MediaLink interface
module features USB 2.0 and 3.5mm
A/V inputs to display video from an
iPod or iPhone.

Cobra Electronics

announced that
its iRadar Community is now available as
part of the latest version of the company’s
iRadar app.

The free app is available for iPhones
and iPod Touches, with an Android version
coming soon, the company said.

The iRadar Community lets users report
and share alerts with other iRadar members.
When a Cobra iRadar detector senses radar or
laser, it automatically shares the info across the iRadar
community.

Escort

joined the social-network program with its Escort
Live real-time notification network which enables
drivers to share live alerts about speed cameras, speed
traps and speed-limit info.

The company’s SmartCord Live uses Bluetooth and an
app for iPhones and Android phones to transmit alerts
from the radar detector to the Cloud. The alerts are then
broadcast across the Escort Live network.

To enter an alert into the system, users swipe the
screen of their phone or tap a button on the SmartCord.
After 30 minutes, an alert will turn from red to orange;
after another 30 minutes, the alert will yellow, and it will
disappear after the next 30 minutes.

Current Escort owners with compatible radar detectors
can purchase for $79.95 the SmartCord Live power
cord, app and an Escort Live subscription that lasts
through the end of 2012. This promotional price will be
available until the end of this year. Beginning in January
2012, the SmartCord will cost $139, and a one-year subscription
will cost $39.95.

Kicker

’s Stillwater division launched an amplifier/controller
that turns an iPod or iPhone into the source unit for
vehicles not usually equipped with a sound system, such
as motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles.

The $249-suggested weather-resistant PXi50.2, shipping
around the end of December, consists of an amplifier
rated at 2×25 watts into 2 ohms, speaker outputs for
adding a pair of speakers, 66-inch connection cable to
connect and charge an Apple mobile device, and a wired
remote that handles volume, basic track control and on/
off.

Omega Research and Development

introduced
eight new Excalibur remote-start systems, including the
entry-level RS-240-DP one-button system and the deluxe
RS-230-DPB with low-temperature detection, valet
switch, status indicators and Blade cartridge support.
Blade cartridges, which dock
directly on the remote starter,
can be programmed via PC,
enabling installers to “basically
configure the entire system
before picking up any tools,”
said R&D operations manager
Hircio Barrios.

Rockford Fosgate’s

car audio
gear will be available on an
OEM basis for the first time in
the motorcycle and power sports
vehicle niche with the SEMA
show launch of the Tanom Motors Invader TC-3
reverse trike, which features two steering
front wheels, one rear drive wheel, and an
enclosed cockpit surrounded by a fiberglass
body.

Scosche Industries’

HD series of
budget-friendly speakers consists of
five three-way speakers, all with an
IMPP injection-molded polypropylene
cones.

The models are priced from a suggested
$29.95 to $49.95/pair for sizes from 4
inches to 6×9 inches.

Vizualogic

showed SmartLogic Android
rear-seat entertainment headrest
monitors are tablet-like monitors that operate
independently or interact with one another,
store data in the cloud, and feature
Wi-Fi, SD card slots and IR technology.
They will begin shipping at the end of December or
in early January, said sales manager Aaron Lyle. Pricing
hasn’t been announced. The SmartLogic monitors will be
available in more than 20,000 different, vehicle-specific

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