We finally hooked up the JVC KD-HDR1 in my husband’s car (okay, Tweeter hooked it up), and I filmed a quick Flip video showing the device’s add-on iPod module. Very few after-market car stereos include HD radio and an iPod connector that lets you not only listen to you iPod through through the car speakers, but also control the iPod through the dash. The JVC device is great, but unfortunately iPod navigation with a four-button interface still leaves much to be desired. My advice: get the KD-HDR1, then store some playlists and memorize the button clicks you need to get to those music tracks. I wouldn’t want to be fiddling with up, down, left, right while driving.

Still haven’t toyed much with the HD radio options, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much HD content there is on the radio dial. I’ll have to start tracking what new stations (not already broadcast in analog) are available in the Philly market in HD.

I’ve been living with the Slacker Portable device for about six weeks now and have accumulated a slew of thoughts/insights/revelations on what I like and don’t like about the music player. In case you’re really ADD or just don’t have the time to read the details, here’s the bottom line: the functionality of the Slacker Portable is phenomenal, and far outweighs the hardware and software quirks that come along with it.

First, if you’ve never used the Slacker service online, go check it out. It’s like other customizable Internet radio applications (Last.fm, Pandora), but the personalization tools are particularly flexible and produce great results. So far, having a Slacker Portable is just like carrying the online application around in my pocket, and I don’t need a constant broadband connection.

Like Slacker’s online service, you can use the Slacker Portable to create custom Internet radio stations, or select from DJ-derived stations based on genre. It comes with built-in Wi-Fi, which you can use to transfer station content to the device any time you’re in range of an open wireless network. (No feature yet to enable connections to password-protected networks) In a brilliant move, the Slacker folks let you pre-load your device with stations from your online account when you order it. This is nice because otherwise the first-time download of music via Wi-Fi takes hours. Content refreshes are much faster.

(more…)

Today’s question, via IM, wonders how to handle the death of a car stereo. Though, it’s not quite so simple — Both the CD player and line-in jack still work, so they’ve been considering a satellite radio add-on. They don’t have a problem with the monthly fee but, upon quizzing, it seems clear they’re not interested in the extra cable clutter (power, antenna, line-in) a plug & play unit adds. My suggestion to upgrade their 1999 ride to a newer model with standard satellite radio and airbags didn’t go over so well… So given only passing interest in satellite, they should probably just restore terrestrial radio via an inexpensive in-dash unit from Crutchfield.

I’m still waiting on the free WiFi, but in the meantime Starbucks is offering complimentary iTunes.

In my old age, I’ve become much more selective in the conference schwag I choose to fly home with…

At the Sprint press event featuring Samsung, I performed a Rock Band guitar duet with NPD analyst Ross Rubin and all attendees left with a stereo Bluetooth headset (MSRP $80). I’m not sure how MagicJack makes money selling their VoIP device at only $40 a pop with unlimited US calling, but I was willing to take a review unit as I’m still searching for the right voice solution. Once I’m done checking these out, we’ll give them away here on the site.

On the software side, a Yahoo booth minion updated my Nokia N95 to Yahoo! Go 3. And the Fring folks convinced me I need their multi-IM client for mobiles, which includes voice chat. (Both are free.)

Lastly, while I can’t say the in-booth oxygen or alcohol bars do much for me, I appreciated Real’s blue M&Ms around lunch time. Cisco was also there in my time of need when I grabbed a Linksys pen in passing.

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs:

• iTunes Now #1 Music Retailer: Brent Evans Geek Tonic
• Generation Millennium, It’s the Network: Media Experiences 2 Go
• Cleaning Up After Vista Service Pack 1: The Daleisphere
• Motorola CDMA Femtocell: Media Experiences 2 Go
• One Click DVD Rip to HTPC: Brent Evans Geek Tonic
• IP Set-Top Shipments Rising: Media Experiences 2 Go

As the regulars probably recall, I’m pretty lazy when it comes to audio. I love all sorts of music, but I’d rather let someone else acquire and assemble the playlists. Sure, I’ve ripped hundreds of CDs (not to mention those DRM-encumbered purchases), but there’s artists I may not yet know of or haven’t remembered to add to the collection - and I just don’t want to continually chase down random tracks. Which is why I enjoy services like satellite radio and Pandora-esque online streaming.

After writing up Airfoil for Apple TV, Earl mentioned he uses Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack Pro - a nice OS X recording application. I picked up a copy ($32) to use in conjunction with the XM Dashboard widget (which utilizes mplayer, selected in the pic above). The widget’s not elegant, but it does keep the audio streaming beyond the 2 hour timeout…

So, I’ve married these two products and possibly violated the XM EULA to create a 10 hour low fidelity (64Kbps?) recording of Lucy which was automatically inserted into iTunes and synced over to my iPhone. It makes for perfect background music while blogging, reading, or dozing on the plane. In fact, this post is being composed while wearing my Shures on the flight into Vegas.

I intend to make a few more recordings of my preferred stations. And being a good digital citizen (on my terms), I’ll delete the files if I unsubscribe to XM at some point.

This little beauty - the SurroundXi - looks best with an iPod Nano, but plays well with other music toys. I’ve been tinkering with these speakers for a couple of weeks now, and they’re fun, highly portable and easy to use. The sound isn’t Bose quality, but with my iPod Shuffle and my iPod Mini, it’s not bad at all. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Plug and play
• Very portable (runs on wire and on batteries)
• Works with multiple audio players and flash drives
• Auto-play from flash drive is seamless
• Comes in many colors
• Cheap! $40 at Target, but word on the Web says you can get the speakers for much less

Cons:

• Music played from a flash drive worked very well the first time around, but now is accompanied by a very loud windy sound out of one speaker. Faulty unit? iPod Shuffle still plays well.
• I plugged the SurroundXi into my Squeezebox a while back, and initially it worked reasonably well, but now the speakers make an annoying buzzing sound.

Bottom Line: The SurroundXi speakers are fun and cheap, but probably won’t hold up to years (months?) of use. Buy’em with that in mind, and you’ll be happy. (more…)