In my car back home in California, my radio faceplate has an auxiliary input, where I can jack in my iPhone via a cable to my car stereo. Not exactly elegant, but plenty functional. My other friends have radio transmitters, cassette tape converters, and other ways to get their tunes pumping through their respective jalopies.
However, a new study by iSuppli, an analysis firm, says that by next year, 58 percent of new American cars—that’s luxury and low-end alike—are expected to have iPod integration. That means that probably by the time I buy a new car (maybe in the next 5-10 years) it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll be able to dock my iPhone (or whatever the future version will be) directly into my car without having to futz around with a cable.
In a further surprising move, 82 percent of the same model year cars will have Bluetooth support (likely for voice calls), according to the same study. Here’s to hoping that my next ride will easily play both my voice calls and music from my 6th generation iPhone without a hitch?
[via Engadget]
I wonder at what point in the future will used car buyers look at these hookups and say, "what's that for?" to the sales person.
I used to have a '92 Legacy. Being 1992, it didn't yet have a CD option. Being Subaru, it did have an input jack on the front of the radio though. I was able to plug my iPod into my radio when I got it back in 2003!
The engine broke a flywheel in 2005 (only 185K on the clock), so I replaced it with a '96 Legacy, but first grabbed the radio out of the old one. Much to my dismay, they new radio is smaller than the old, so I couldn't swap it out. Now I use a transmitter.
I went from being so far ahead of the curve I was almost lapping people to just being in the trailing pack.