Alpine Electronics of America, Inc., the industry-leading manufacturer of mobile media solutions, announced an all-new flexible AV+N (audio/video plus navigation) solution with the launch of its second-generation Blackbird™ (PMD-B200) portable navigation device and IVA-W205 in-dash AV head unit. The Blackbird and IVA-W205 pairing provides the ease of use of a fixed navigation system, the car-to-car flexibility of a portable navigation device, and a clean, clutter-less dash without any cables for a premium driving experience.
This combination is the latest addition to Alpine’s award-winning navigation line up, which includes the traffic-enabled PMD-B100T Blackbird portable navigation device and PMD-DOK1 wired docking station. Alpine also offers the high-performance NVE-N872A DVD-based, traffic-service enabled fixed navigation system. The new Blackbird and IVA-W205 system won this year’s top honors for the 2007 CES Best of Innovations in the Mobile Electronics category.
“Alpine continues to innovate the navigation category, providing highly flexible products for the rapidly growing number of consumers demanding navigation in their cars,” said Stephen Witt, vice president, Marketing, Alpine Electronics. “We now offer the industry’s first in-dash portable and fixed navigation solutions that will fit any driving lifestyle needs.”
The new Blackbird portable navigation device, which runs on the Microsoft Windows CE platform, can fit entirely inside the IVA-W205, a 2-DIN DVD/CD/MP3/WMA AV head unit, to create an integrated in-vehicle entertainment and navigation package. The IVA-W205’s faceplate slides down to a 90-degree angle, revealing the CD/DVD slot and a separate slot for the Blackbird. Once tucked inside, the Blackbird becomes a dedicated navigation processor in the same way a fixed navigation system operates in a traditional AV+N set-up. All user control functions are automatically transferred to the head unit’s larger 6.5-inch flat PulseTouch™ touch-screen LCD monitor, which can be angled for the user’s preferred viewing position. Music stored on the Blackbird’s built-in SD card slot can be played through the car’s audio system, while the NaviMix function automatically mutes the music when a driving instruction is announced. When the Blackbird is paired to a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, the IVA-W205’s external microphone connection provides communication to the Blackbird’s built-in Bluetooth receiver.
Unlike other all-in-one AVN systems, the Blackbird runs the navigation mode on its own and does not take processing power away from the IVA-W205, enabling the IVA-W205 to focus on audio and video functions. Therefore, two processors are used simultaneously for navigation and multimedia sources, resulting in an incredibly powerful integrated system.
Blackbird: Fully Loaded Portable Navigation
The new Blackbird is loaded with a bevy of new and upgraded features, including:
• Built-in hard drive for preloaded NAVTEQ™ map data of the United States and Canada, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
• Four intuitive map viewing options, including 3D mapping, 2D full map, split map and turn-by-turn arrow view.
• Built-in Bluetooth module enables users to answer phone calls, dial out using the on-screen 12-key phone dial, and access call data via the Blackbird when connected to a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device.
• Built-in NAVTEQ® Traffic RDS™ tuner for continuously updated traffic flow and incident information, as well as re-routing capabilities, in 50 major U.S. markets plus Toronto, Canada (built-in 90-day free trial, with optional subscription for $60 per year).
• Six million unique points of interest, including restaurants, hotels and gas stations.
• SD card slot allows playback of up to 4GB of stored WMA/MP3 music files.
• Built-in FM modulator in device cradle transmits music and driving directions wirelessly to any FM car stereo.
• Turn-by-turn voice-delivered instructions with automatic recalculation if a turn is missed.
• Exclusive Graphical User Interface (GUI for Drivers™) with intuitive screen graphics.
The Blackbird can connect to select Alpine AV head units using the second-generation PMD-DOK2 docking adapter. The adapter transfers all Blackbird user controls and navigation functions to the larger touch-screen head unit. All-new cosmetic features on the Blackbird include a large 4-inch LCD touch-screen display; sleek black aluminum face; and a back-lit control pad with laser-etched icons. The device measures 6.1 inches x 2.9 inches x 1.2 inches (145mm x 74mm x 29mm) and weighs 8.6 oz. (244 grams).
IVA-W205: Alpine’s Second-Generation 2-DIN AV Head Unit
The IVA-W205 DVD/CD/MP3/WMA AV head unit, built on Alpine’s proprietary Ai-NET BUS platform, enjoys full connectivity and on-screen control over today’s hottest digital media sources, services and devices, including:
• iPod® Enabled: Navigate large music libraries and play iPod music at faster speeds than before with the head unit’s built-in Percentage Search function and KCE-422i Full Speed™ Connection for iPod cable ($30 SRI, sold separately).
• Satellite Radio Enabled: XM® or SIRIUS® satellite radio can be accessed with on-screen channel and song tag information (separate tuner boxes and subscription service required).
• HD Radio™ Enabled: Access static-free digital HD Radio with multicasting (TUA-T500HD tuner box required, $250 SRI, sold separately).
• USB WMA/MP3 Enabled: Play and control USB-based MP3 players through the head unit (KCA-620M cable adapter required, $160 SRI, sold separately).
• Bluetooth Enabled: Operate many Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices wirelessly and get on-screen display of call information (KCE-300BT Bluetooth adapter required, $220 SRI, sold separately).
• SIRIUS Plug and Play Enabled: Play and control SIRIUS plug and play devices through the head unit (Alpine KCA-SC100 adapter box, $80 SRI, and SIRIUS SC-VDOC1, required.)
• XM Mini-Tuner Enabled: Play and control XM’s Mini-Tuner platform of portable devices through the head unit (XM Mini-Tuner car dock required).
The IVA-W205 also boasts playback of virtually any shiny disc, including DVD-Audio (2-channel down mix) and DVD-Video. Achieve premium sound quality with the IVA-W205’s high-resolution 24-bit DAC and optical outputs. For those looking to expand their system, the unit features full processor control and 5.1 multi-channel playback with Dolby Digital®, Dolby Pro-Logic® II and DTS® support. The unit’s 6.5-inch PulseTouch monitor gives tactile confirmation of commands when touched, simulating the feel of pushing or tapping a real button, or moving a slider.