LAS VEGAS – JVC Mobile’s first two multimedia receivers with MHL/HDMI inputs will display video and GUIs from HDMI-connected iPhones and Android smartphones, but at least initially, the touchscreens of the HDMI-connected heads won’t be able to control the GUIs, said car electronics product planner Johnny Kashiwazaki.
The company demonstrated the use of Bluetooth’s Human Interface Device (HID) profile to enable touchscreen control of the GUIs of many apps running on HDMI-connected smartphones. The company, however, currently has no plans to offer firmware upgrades to add HID or Bluetooth serial port profile (SPP) capabilities to the heads, he said.
Like other new JVC heads, the multimedia receivers offer touchscreen control of the Pandora and iHeartRadio apps on USB-connected iPhones and Bluetooth-connected Android phones, he noted.
The two MHL/HDMI multimedia receivers are the mainstream- series $529-suggested KW-V30BT with 6.1-inch touchscreen and $599 KW-V50BT with 7-inch touchscreen. They ship in March and April, respectively.
Combined with the Bluetooth technologies, HDMI inputs would enable the touchscreen control of multiple Apple apps, including navigation and Internet radio, on an iPhone 5, and likely on the iPhone 5s and 5c, equipped with digital- only Lightning connector, the company previously said. The head units would also control apps on Android phones equipped with MHL-enabled MicroUSB outputs, the company previously said.
The touchscreens of both head units, like previous multimedia head units, display the video and app GUIs of a USB-connected iPhone 4 and 4S and control 20 iPhone apps, the company previously said. The two iPhones send their video to the head units’ composite-video inputs.
