Cypress, Calif. – Navigation, upgraded Bluetooth capabilities, HD
Radio and USB streaming of iPhone-app audio to head units are all getting JVC’s
marketing attention this year, but the company will focus on navigation for its
next online viral-video campaign launching in the spring.
The third annual Turn Me On campaign, set for a launch sometime
in May, will focus on the $1,199-suggested double-DIN KW-NT3HDT in-dash
navigation system with CD/DVD player and embedded iTunes-tagging HD Radio.
The detachable-face satellite-ready nav system will be the first
CE device to display news, sports and weather information over HD Radio from
Clear Channel’s newly expanded Total Traffic Network service, which previously
delivered only traffic data over HD Radio, said Chad Vogelsong, marketing GM at
JVC Mobile Entertainment. The service is free to purchasers.
The KW-NT3HDT is JVC’s first nav unit with built-in HD Radio and
first double-DIN product with built-in HD Radio. Other features include USB host
port, embedded Bluetooth, and 400MHz CPU for quick route recalculation and
faster 15-second nav-system start-up time after turning the car on. That
compares with competitors’ 35 to 40 seconds, Vogelsong said.
To promote the nav unit, JVC will team with “a pretty large rock band”
that will appear in an online video accompanied by online ads and other forms
of online promotion, Vogelsong said.
The video in the current Turn Me On 2 campaign featured two
unknown bands – The Darling Stilettos and Charm City Devils – using JVC’s
in-car A/V and navigation products. The campaign included a Twitter campaign,
Facebook ads, a MySpace page and the video, which appeared on the Web and video
billboards, including JVC’s high-definition LED billboard in New
York’s Times Square. The current
video has been viewed 7.8 million times on the Web since its May 15, 2009,
launch. That beats the first campaign’s 5 million video views, Vogelsong said.
The current video is hosted on Spin magazine’s server to guarantee heavy
traffic, he said.
Details of the third campaign will be announced soon.
Also as part if its 2010 lineup, JVC is:
–incorporating an “app” mode into head units for the first time to
stream audio from USB-connected iPhone/iPod Touch apps, including Internet
radio apps.
The feature is included in five head units, but the apps must be
controlled from the iPhone/Touch. The units include the KW-NT3HDT in-dash
navigation system and $219-suggested KD-R810 CD-receiver with two USB ports and
built-in Bluetooth.
–expanding its selection of head units with embedded HD Radio to
five from four with the launch of the KW-NT3HDT nav system and four other new
in-dash CD-receivers, already shipping. The starting price for built-in HD
Radio remains at a suggested $129.
–incorporating Bluetooth’s Phone Book Access Protocol (PBAP) in
all five Bluetooth-equipped head units, enabling the head units to read
hundreds of contacts stored in a nearby PBAB-equipped phone such as the iPhone.
Head units that store Bluetooth-transferred contacts in memory, in contrast,
may not have enough memory to store all the contacts.
–adding Bluetooth easy switching for the first time to two head
units, enabling users to switch between two Bluetooth phones without going through
the pairing process. The feature appears in the $299-suggested double-DIN
KW-XR810 CD-receiver and in one of two new double-DIN A/V head units, the $649-suggested
KX-AVX830. All ship in mid to late March.
–adding an external app mode to five head units to enable
streaming of Internet radio apps on a connected iPhone or iPod Touch through a
USB connection.
–shipping in March two new double-DIN CD-receivers – the
$199-suggested KW-XR710 and $299 KW-XR810 – to take advantage of demand from
people who want to replace a double-DIN OEM head unit but don’t want to pay for
pricier A/V units or nav units. A/V units start at $499 in JVC’s lineup.
The two satellite- and HD Radio-ready units were also designed
with more of a factory look than their predecessors, thanks in part to large
knobs.
Also in the 2010 lineup, JVC maintained its selection of
double-DIN A/V units at three with the launch of the two new models, and it
launched 10 replacement CD-receivers, including models in its specialist Arsenal
line.
The opening-price head unit
is a $79-suggested CD-receiver that isn’t satellite- or HD Radio-ready and
features front aux input and no USB port. It plays MP3/WMA discs.
