Sirius XM said it will launch Satellite Radio 2.0 radios to be available in retail stores for the 2011 holiday season and that retail sales are showing improvement.

Without giving many specifics, Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin said, “Sirius XM is very committed to continue to innovate. Satellite Radio 2.0 will take it to a new level…Our next generation of satellite radios are expected to offer more choices for the consumer and contain functionality that does not exist today.” He reiterated the radios will allow for more channels and more capacity.

Later in a Sirius XM financial call with analysts, the new radios were referred to as Sirius XM 2.0. Executive Jim Meyer said that he believes the new radios will help boost sales at the retail level, which have already begun to improve.

Sirius XM pointed to a deceleration in the losses of retail subscribers. Meyer said, “We were very encouraged; for the first time in a lot of quarters, we saw an improvement. I’m cautiously optimistic that things are turning around…The biggest driver will be Sirius XM 2.0 and a redefine of the features that make it unique.”

For the quarter retail subscribers declined by 143,000 compared to a decline of 301,000 for the same period last year. OEM and rental subscribers gained in the quarter with total net additions of almost 600,000.

The new 2.0 radios will also roll out to new cars “as soon as they are able to incorporate this into their production schedules,” Karmazin added.

An announcement on “what’s going on with Howard [Sterm]” will be made prior to Sirius XM’s Q3 earnings call said Karmazin.
Source: CEoutlook

Call us crazy but we think this is a good idea. Bazooka (SAS) began shipping a $50 demo device you bring into your customers’ cars to show them what bass is all about.

The “Testube” plugs into the cigarette lighter and has a cable that runs to the back seat where you place a Bazooka Bass Tube (powered sub). It incorporates and FM modulator and connections/slots for an SD card, iPod or USB drive to share your music.

Tune to the FM station and then you can play your music through the car’s speakers (for the high frequencies) and the Bass Tube for the bass. There’s a toggle switch so you can A-B between no bass and bass.

Bazooka suggests you use the Testube for any potential subwoofer customer so he sees what bass will do for his vehicle, boat, etc. But of course, it hopes to cinch a sale for a Bass Tube.

Source: Bazooka

Volvo will soon introduce a 2011 S60 with a $2,100 option that stops the car automatically to avoid hitting pedestrians.

Apparently over 4,000 pedestrians are killed each year in the U.S. especially in states such as New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

The system will actually stop the car short of hitting an object provided the car is going 22 mph or less. It uses both radar and a camera for detection. And the system can be helpful in preventing a rear end crash, especially important today with so many driver distractions.

The new S60 will also include an Audyssey sound system.

Source: Forbes

Kicker is shipping a zero summing device, the ZXSUM8, that is its first OEM integration product under the Kicker brand. It adjusts the sound processing in a factory radio so you can add aftermarket speakers and amplifiers without a distorted audio result.

The ZXSUM8 also has an aux-in jack to add an iPod or other portable device to the system.

Factory radios often include digital signal processing to optimize the factory radio with the factory speakers. If you want to add new speakers, you want to start with a clean signal signal without that DSP. The SZSUM8 “sums and balances” the signals of a factory system into a full bandwidth line-level output signal.

The company just sent out a release on the $230-suggested system, but it began shipping in April.
Source: Kicker

In a coup for the fledgling aftermarket driver safety business, Mobileye, maker of crash warning systems, has signed up Car Toys to carry its products.

The Mobileye C2-170 will be stocked by Car Toys’ 51 stores plus its fleet distribution channel, said Mobileye.

The C2-170 at $900 has been available for about a year and is sold through Al & Ed’s Autosound, and supported by InstallerNet. The device has a timely purpose, as it may prevent someone from texting themselves into a crash. It beeps and flashes if your car is closing in on a vehicle ahead too quickly. It also warns when you are drifting out of your lane. A new version, the the C2-270 may be sold through Car Toys and adds pedestrian detection and bicycle detection.

(Scroll to 1:30 minutes near the end of video)

“Given the escalating rate of on-road accidents caused by distracted driving, we felt it was imperative that Mobileye systems be made readily available to our customers,” said Car Toys CEO Dan Brettler. “Soon, they will have first-hand access to technologies that save lives and significantly minimize risk.”

Driver Safety could become a new category in the aftermarket. Alpine demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, a bird’s-eye-view advanced parking system that lets you see a full 360 degree panorama when you park or back up the vehicle so you don’t hit the sidewalk or another car.

Driver safety products can include lane departure warning systems, self-parking systems, blind spot detection; night vision systems, etc. The category is gaining rapidly in the new car market and products have been featured this year in TV ads from car makers including Ford and BMW.

Source: Mobileye

Four leading car retail shops say they have signed non-disclosure agreements with OnStar and we are told the GM division is meeting with car AV specialists during the next several weeks to discuss OnStar’s first retail product.

Our tip follow a report in May that OnStar is offering a retail-aimed product/service to retailers such as Best Buy, but it looks like 12 volt specialists are included in the telematics giant’s plans.

A spokeswoman for OnStar said only, “We have not made any announcements about a retail product. Our latest announcement was about the mobile app technology for all GM vehicles… We plan to make a series of announcements over the next few months, so stay tuned for more.”

A Strategy Analytics blog by Roger Lanctot said in May that OnStar is moving into retail to expand its base now that new car sales have slowed. The retail device may take the shape of mirror-mounted product, but other solutions may also be offered. Like OnStar in new cars, the devices would provide roadside assistance, concierge services and location awareness features. Let us know what you are hearing.

Source: CEoutlook

Four leading car stereo retail shops say they have signed non-disclosure agreements with OnStar and we are told the GM division is meeting with car AV specialists during the next several weeks to discuss OnStar’s first retail product.

Our tip follow a report in May that OnStar is offering a retail-aimed product/service to retailers such as Best Buy, but it looks like 12 volt specialists are included in the telematics giant’s plans.

A spokeswoman for OnStar said only, “We have not made any announcements about a retail product. Our latest announcement was about the mobile app technology for all GM vehicles… We plan to make a series of announcements over the next few months, so stay tuned for more.”

A Strategy Analytics blog by Roger Lanctot said in May that OnStar is moving into retail to expand its base now that new car sales have slowed. The retail device may take the shape of mirror-mounted product, but other solutions may also be offered. Like OnStar in new cars, the devices would provide roadside assistance, concierge services and location awareness features. Let us know what you are hearing.

Source: CEoutlook