Dear Intaweb

[bellinghman]

Look, I know what I want.

I want the ability to receive DAB stations in my car. I happen to like BBC7 and so on.

I want the ability to play MP3s from a reasonable size storage. (A few gigabytes would be fine) No, I don't want to have to plug an MP3 player in: I'd be happy with the ability to put a USB drive in the glove compartment.

I want to be able to use the existing steering wheel controls to be able to change track or station or whatever.

That's all I think I want. I don't actually need the ability to play a CD. Or a cassette.

So why is it so hard to find the right product?

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Pure have just launched an in-car DAB radio add-on; can't remember the name, but you glom it inside your window using suckers and it acts as a DAB receiver, rebroadcasting on FM at short range. Quality is obviously limited by the FM/analog stage, but at least it gives you the stations -- and as it's battery powered and removable there are no wires to worry about and you don't need to leave it in your car.

No, it doesn't work through your steering wheel controls. What do you expect for sixty or seventy quid? (I'm probably buying one next time I go on a long road trip.)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen those, though something deep within my engineer's soul protests at the inelegance of the solution.

What makes me think that what I actually want is a year away?

[happydisciple.livejournal.com]

A year from now all cars will have cable radio.

Wait, what?

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Hmm, not a bad idea. If it could pick up media servers, then I could just leave all the music on the server at home and listen to that.

It'd be especially useful for the electric cars if they did TCP/IP over power. That way you'd need only the one cable.

Oh, wait ...