Secaucus, N.J. — Panasonic became the first supplier to offer a digital AM/FM HD Radio tuner integrated in a CD-receiver. The single-DIN CQ-CB9900U retails for a suggested $999.
The product follows Kenwood shipments of an outboard HD Radio tuner controllable from multiple head units.
The Kenwood device and Panasonic’s CD receiver are the only two aftermarket HD Radio products currently available, but at the end of summer, JVC will ship its first HD Radio product, also a CD-receiver with integrated HD Radio tuner, said Dave Salemi, marketing director of HD Radio inventor iBiquity Digital. “Other car audio companies will launch right after CES’ 05,” Salemi said. A handful of home tuners will also be available in late summer or early fall, he added.
At CES, multiple car audio suppliers showed HD Radios, but only Kenwood, JVC, and Panasonic committed publicly to 2004 launches.
