Long gone are the days when a CB radio put a car owner on the cutting edge of mobile electronics.
The edge has moved on to video players, satellite TVs and radios, iPod adapters, navigational devices and even mobile Internet connections – gadgets not even imagined when James Bond first zipped around in his tricked-out Aston Martin.
An iPod interface is about the hottest item going, said Sean McLeod, store manager at SBS, a retail electronics store on West 44th Avenue.
“It will directly hook your iPod to your radio and charge it, too,” he said. “And you can control the iPod. The text displays. So basically you can carry whatever that iPod can carry and use it as a main part of the radio.”
A deck with an iPod interface sells for about $400 installed.
Another hot item is Internet in Motion.
“It is a mobile Internet system that works off cellular technology,” McLeod. “It works very well and may be used while in motion. It can work by wire or wireless, depending on what application you have.”
There is an Internet connection at the rear of the unit. You plug your laptop into it just like you do with your home PC. “It is like a mobile hotspot,” he said. “It just works on power ground, cellular modem and wireless router.”
The system includes a 3-inch antenna that goes on the vehicle’s roof. While it will set you back about $2,200 installed, it is popular with people who have mobile offices.
Or check out the cellular amplifier.
“It actually amplifies the signal of your incoming and outgoing calls,” McLeod said. “So you can get a little bit farther from that tower than you normally could.”
Vehicle video players have been around for a while, but remain a top draw. They come in three basic styles: drop-down screens attached to the roof, systems built into the back of the front-seat headrests and portable screens that hang from the front headrest.
“Our most popular selling screen is a Panasonic 9-inch swivel screen,” said Pete Howard, sales manager for PDV in Littleton. “The DVD loads up where the pod is, and the screen will swivel to whoever is in the back seat.”
An installed single-screen system costs less than $1,000.
McLeod said the shop’s best seller is the headrest player. Two players with 7- to 10-inch screens and two wireless headphones cost just under $2,000 installed.
Satellite radios also sell well.
Howard said a popular style is the Plug and Play by Audiovox, his personal choice. He has satellite-radio docks in his boat, his company car and his personal car, and moves the radio among them.
The price of Plug and Play begins at about $299 installed.
DVDs and video game are not enough for some travelers. So they buy a satellite TV system.
“It is basically a big dish,” Howard said. “The dish is about 3 feet in diameter. It is pretty much just for SUVs. The company makes special luggage racks for certain vehicles to tie it down.”
The dish automatically rotates to continuously lock onto the Direct TV signal.
The dish costs about $2,200 installed. Add $800 or so if you need a screen. Then there is the monthly fee to Direct TV.
“Everything you get at home, you’re going to get on the road,” McLeod said.
In-dash navigation systems remain brisk sellers as more bells and whistles are added.
One, made by Pioneer, offers three-dimensional views, updating the adage, “Wherever you go, there you are.”
“All land features are present,” McLeod said. “So if you have a lake, you’ll see a lake. If there is a golf course, you’ll see a golf course.”
Thanks to GPS technology, it also warns of accidents or other traffic tie-ups on your route and in the general area.
It is pricey at $2,000 installed, but it includes a CD player, MP-3 player, full radio, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and an iPod port.
One popular device is not for entertainment, though you certainly will get a kick from telling your friends what it can do.
It is a remote starter from Directed Electronics that is almost like having a chauffeur.
The gizmo works like this: A small hand-held transmitter connects with a unit in the vehicle. At the bottom of the hand-
held sits an icon of a red car. The system uses a chime to signal that the hand-held has connected with the vehicle unit.
You can set a timer to run the car for up to 25 minutes – perfect for warming up the vehicle on winter mornings. Then it automatically shuts off the car.
“If someone opens the car door, the hand unit sounds a single chime, and a door opens on the little red car,” Howard said. “If someone has thrown a football at it or just bumped their car door against it and set the alarm off, it will show a hammer hitting on top of the car. That means nobody is in your car, but your alarm has been set off somehow.”
You also can sign up for a satellite system enabling you to start your car from anywhere in the world. One possible application: A soldier posted overseas could keep the battery in his vintage GTO charged until his return stateside.
The system costs about $450. A one-time fee of about $200 adds the satellite service.
Funny thing, though. Despite all this technological wizardry, SBS still enjoys plenty of CB customers.
“You’d be amazed at the CB business we do,” McLeod said. “We’ve got a lot of old guys that come in here still doing CBs.”
Some people’s edge moves on more slowly than others.
Staff Writer Ed Will can be reached at 303-820-1694 or ewill@denverpost.com.
