Mobile Briefs

By Staff On Jul 7 2003 - 6:00am

Summer Rebate Season In Full Swing

NEW YORK — To help spur sales, a number of suppliers are introducing summer rebates. Pioneer is offering between $15 and $30 off on six models of CD receivers through August 31. Panasonic, which says it is bucking the down trend with a sales increase of 10 percent this year, said it wants to continue to "build momentum" according to national marketing manager, Rob Lopez. The company is offering $20 to $30 off on six CD receivers through Sept 30.

Blaupunkt Ships New V-Line Head Units

BROADVIEW, ILL. — Blaupunkt introduced two new V-Line car CD players, each with 50-watt-by-4 power, flip-down detachable faceplate and three-color display. The Phoenix MP33 also offers MP3. The Sacramento CD33 has CD changer control. Suggested retails are $349 and $259, respectively.

Nielsen To Track XM

WASHINGTON — XM Satellite Radio said that Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) will begin tracking music played on its radio service starting in July. XM said the announcement is significant because record labels rely on Nielsen for information on radio airplay and Billboard magazine bases its airplay charts on Nielsen ratings. XM said it is the only satellite radio service which Nielsen will track. Nielsen will monitor 10 XM stations.

Headrest Monitors From VizuaLogic

CORONA, CALIF. — VizuaLogic is debuting its first line of headrest monitors (with custom headrests) aimed at the tuner audience. The company is showing the Epic Z line of monitors with optional neon piping designed to match the interiors of the Honda Civic, Honda Accord and the Ford Focus. The monitor is a flush mount 7-inch widescreen LCD and it includes an A/V control module with dual source video inputs and remote control. Headrests are made of black carbon fiber vinyl with colored sides. Pricing is about $599 suggested retail. Headrests will be available for additional car models this year, said the company.

K40 Bows Portable Detector

ELGIN, ILL. — K40 launched a new portable radar detector called the RD-850. The new model increases sensitivity and performance over K40's previous RD-650, said the company. Software for the unit has also been redesigned to fliter out non-signals. The RD-850 comes with a one year no-ticket guarantee and has a suggested retail price of $299.