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Must-Have Car Gadgets

Posted on 09 January 2008 by Matt

So you bought your dream car. It’s black with leather interior and has all of the options. It has the most powerful YET fuel efficient engine on the market (you have to do your part in fighting global warming, after all). The car comes with everything you’ve always wanted. It even comes with bells and whistles you never even knew existed. But by the end of this decade, a third of your car’s value will be in its electronics and advanced technologies.

Here is a list we put together of the newest and best add-on tech accessories being sold for your car. While some of these may not be cheap, they are definitely fun.

  1. Traffic Info: Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator – The best is never the cheapest. These shirt-pocket devices are the Nüvi 680. They come with a 4.3-inch quarter VGA (QVGA, or 320-by-240) LCD screen. You can connect it to your car’s power and it receives real-time traffic reports, giving you a better idea of roads to avoid.
  2. HD Radio Add-On: “Car Connect” Universal HD Radio Tuner - HD Radio can triple the radio broadcasts you receive. One frequency will carry the digital station while two others are multi-cast over the same frequency. The Car Connect HD tuner connects to any existing radio via the antenna for no loss of signal quality. All you need to do is mount a small module on the dash, then tune your radio to an unused FM station, or use the auxiliary input.
  3. Car Stereo: Sony MEX-BT5000 CD receiver with Bluetooth® technology and MP3/WMA - For a unique way to experience Bluetooth in your car, you need to replace your old stereo with one that integrates the latest in Bluetooth technology. The MEX-BT5000 has an AM/FM receiver, CD player, 24-bit DAC, and more. This Bluetooth isn’t just for phone calls: Using a device supporting A2DP (the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), you can stream music off devices, and there are plug-in modules for iPods and satellite radio.
  4. Cell-Phone Navigator: LG enV Phone – It seems every day portable navigators shrink even smaller and smaller. They’re so tiny; it’s difficult to remember to take them with you. Consider this like a cell phone with navigation built-in, such as the LG 9900 enV running VZ Navigator software from Verizon and Networks in Motion. Place messaging lets you send a “GPS thumbtack” to someone else’s phone, setting your location as the destination.
  5. GPS Navigation: Alpine Blackbird PMD-B100 - GPS Receiver – This one has it all. Here’s a navigation device you can use three ways: Try it as a battery-operated walkabout unit with a 3.6-inch color screen, as a dashboard-mounted personal navigation aid, or add a $200 docking module to it which hides the Blackbird under your seat and connects to an Alpine AV head unit with a big LCD. This last option gives you a system nearly as good as what you’d get built into a new car.
  6. Cell-Phone Adapter: Parrot CK3100 LCD Bluetooth Car Kit - Cell phones can be distracting and often illegal when held in your hand. If you’re not a fan of an earpiece dangling as you drive, get a dash-mounted Bluetooth adapter such as Parrot’s, which connects to most car stereos or a separate speaker. Only a small display stays visible. There is also voice recognition which lets you dial by name.

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