Delphi Shows Portable Nav

By Amy Gilroy On Jan 26 2004 - 8:00am

Car electronics supplier Delphi continues to make inroads into the car stereo aftermarket with new products, including a portable navigation system that will be available at Circuit City, and satellite video for the car.

During the past two years, the company has boosted its presence in the car stereo aftermarket by its growing dominance in XM hardware. At CES, Dave Wohleen, president of Delphi's electrical, electronics and safety division, said Delphi shipped 1.8 million XM units since it began production and that three out of four current XM users own Delphi hardware.

Delphi showed prototypes of several advanced products that are slated for the aftermarket within three years, and the new car market in five years. Among them is a 200-channel, satellite video system with an antenna built-in to the car roof (without changing the form factor of the car) at a target price of $1,000. Another product is a CD receiver with a 20GB hard drive that can rip CDs and 'pause' songs on the radio for playback later.

Delphi's new aftermarket portable navigation unit recently began shipping, at $800. The turn-by-turn map-based GPS system offers "the brightest 3D display on the market," according to a spokesman. It has a flash-memory slot and ships with two CDs containing maps of the United States.

Also new for the aftermarket and OE sectors is an 8-inch overhead monitor with built-in DVD slot.

Delphi also announced it will begin building Sirius-ready radios for Ford.