EXTERNAL EFFECT Internet Invasion: Music From the Clouds
Thought the music industry wars were over? Think again, and be ready for customers who want to ditch the CD in favor of the stream.
THE NEW HEAD UNIT REPLACEMENT What’s Going On: Intel, which is known for its dominance in producing microprocessors for desktops and lap- tops, is making its foray into the tablet world. The company plans to produce up to 10 tablets under its brand, joining a quickly crowding market, though relatively few have major brand recognition. How It Could Affect You: Yet another well-known brand means tablets will hit mainstream soon. Their speed, versatility and larger screens, combined with growing means of connectivity, will spell new applications in cars. However, the lack of size standardization (other than the iPad) will give kit companies pause before deciding to make kits that accommodate tablets, therefore, custom skills and integration savvy will pay dividends to the stores that can sell the skill.
THE SIMPLE STEREO
What’s Going On: Pioneer recently introduced its AppRadio, which is designed to appeal to the iPhone (not car- centric) consumer who would not normally visit a specialist car audio retailer. The AppRadio emulates iPhone app functionality for a growing list of apps, which include MotionX navigation and Pandora Radio. How It Could Affect You: While we certainly hope the immediate effect is an influx of new customers, the longer-term effect should be new consumers ripe for upgrades. Being able to recreate the portable ex- perience in the car — in a way that these phone warriors ar eused to — opens the door for better quality sound in amp and speaker improvements. Be sure to have your pitch down pat.
PND PANIC
What’s Going On Navigation maker Garmin has put in a bid to buy German navigation company Navigon. the latter sold portable navigation devices in the U.S. in recent years, but has since retreated to Europe in light of tough competition in the States. How It Could Affect You: It’s not so much the intended purchase that makes the news, but the price: $72 million, which is considered modest in terms of the total navigation market. This signals the difficulty for the category, as most of the no-names have gotten out. Expect to see traditional PND companies ditch the hardware for more inclusion on other established devices, both portable and in-car.
HIGH TIMES What’s Going On:
The release of Google Music Beta and Apple’s recently announced iCloud has signaled the beginning of cloud music services. No longer will a users’ music be confined to a single storage device or need to be physically transferred music from one unit to another to be used. How It Could Affect You: Product development can either be pushed by other products, or pulled by consumer demand. In this
64 Mobile Electronics June| July 2011
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