You have got the latest hot wheels. Now, it?s time to equip it with the smartest audio and video system that can be the envy of your colleagues. And there?s a range of gadgets to help you make that happen. Modern-day car stereos have almost unlimited choices in customised sound equipment. They swing from sweet-sounding stereos to heavy music boxes that?ll make your ears ring.
Much before he bought his Optra, R S Sharma, a young executive, who is passionate about his music, had decided that only a Blaupunkt would do for him. So when he saw, or rather heard the Mumbai MP26 ? the first product from the Blaupunkt stable to be named after an Indian city ? he was delighted. ?It comes only for Rs 7,750, and has an integrated MP3 / WMA decoder. That meant I could listen to all my favourite numbers stored on my iPod.? For the speakers, he preferred to go for the red Sony Xplod 4-way speakers that boast a peaking power of 400W. ?They feature a fairly high sensitivity of 93 decibels and a frequency range of 25-32,000 Hz, thus picking up almost every frequency that the human ear can hear,? he explains.
In-car entertainment is a large sector today, with all the big names present in the Indian market. Blaupunkt, Pioneer, Nakamichi, Sony ?you name it, and it?s all available at your neighbourhood car accessories dealer. ?What started off as a niche segment has today become a must-have accessory, whatever the size and make of the car. Rising income levels, a liking for music and awareness of various gadgets has turned it into a high-volume business,? says Rajesh Khanna, proprietor, Car Audio & Accessories, in the Capital.
Agrees Vivek Handoo, product head, in-car entertainment division, Sony India, ?As the automobile industry grows, the demand for in-car entertainment products will only see an upsurge in the coming years. From audio to video, gaming to online connectivity, it?s all going to be there in the car now. In India, majority of the business for this category is a result of after-market sales, where they rank from mid size, MUV and SUV customers to small car buyers.? From the wide range of Sony in-car entertainment products, the CDX-V6800 (a VCD player for Rs 9,990), MEX-DV1000 (a DVD tuner for Rs 13,990) and XVM-B62 (a headrest LCD monitor for Rs 9,990) are the popular models. And if you want a top-end model, there’s the touch-screen media centre receiver player from the Sony stable that is available for Rs 64,990.
Garment exporter Harish Anand is one such satisfied customer. “We frequently visit our ancestral house in Shimla, and it certainly made sense to retrofit my Terracan with the Sony LCD monitor on the back of the head-rests. It gives our children something to watch on the long drive, and even on a business trip, it?s a good way to unwind,? he says. Explains Blaupunkt India country head, car multimedia, Ajay Sahney, ?Car videos are much more in vogue in SUVs and coaches where people like to watch movies over a long drive and in the low-end segment, probably for taxis.? However, while the growth of video systems is encouraging, it continues to capture only 15-20% of the entire market that is dominated by CD/MP3 players, points out Handoo.
A basic in-car environment consists of one head unit, two speakers at the rear end and two in the front. Typically, people spend three per cent of the car value in car-entertainment products. Retrofitting a car completely with the entire system, including a video player and a monitor, would incur a cost ranging from between Rs 18,000 to Rs 27,000, depending on the models that are used.
General trends are also changing, with customers choosing their car radios customised to their needs. So, like Sharma, you can also pick a Blaupunkt head unit to co-ordinate with Sony speakers to have an audio system of your choice. Mix, match and enjoy. It?s seen that more than being based on the size of the car, it is the particular need of the consumer which is predicting his particular purchase. Says Sharma, ?I preferred to customise my audio system rather than picking it up directly from the showroom. I listen to jazz as well as classical music and I wanted my system to highlight all the right notes.? That?s personalised in-car entertainment for you!
As far as the latest is concerned, you can check what the brands have to offer. Blaupunkt has recently introduced four new head units in the market ? Hamburg M57 (Rs 15,950) and Kingston MP47 (Rs 12,950), London MP37 and San Diego MP27. Then there?s Memphis MP66, priced at Rs 25,750, which not only sports Bluetooth technology, but has a USB port/Aux which enables you to connect external audio sources such as the iPod.
Besides audio companies, there are some value additions from the auto majors. Recognising the need for interconnectivity, Toyota has launched an iPod integration kit that directly links your car?s audio system with the Apple iPod. The connection is housed inside the glove box of the car,
providing a simple plug and play option from iPod to stereo that also doubles up as a charger. The iPod can be completely controlled by using the car?s audio head unit, or (where fitted) the controls on the steering wheel. The integration kit, which comes for $300, can be installed into any current Toyota and Lexus model, and is compatible with most versions of the iPod.