There have been a few news reports lately regarding a bad batch of iPods which have been “exploding”. News reports suggest that an 11 year old girl from liverpool had heard hissing noises from her iPod before it popped and she could smell burning. Apple had thrown out reports of a bad batch and suggested it was an “isolated incident”. News quickly got around and before long, quite a number of people were “claiming” that their iPods had gone faulty on forums and around the internet. Apple released a statement saying that these were simple lies and that only a very limited number of Apple iPods had been replaced with these faults, less than 10 infact.

As this has became big news, a few people have jumped on the bandwaggon. All isn’t bad though, some fun and games has arrived from this media hype. A game was developed called “iPop – Make iPods Safe”. Its a nice quick game to cure some boredom. Check it out here.

Here at Car Audio Plus, we know that sometimes your car audio budgets arent always going to run into the thousands. This is why we have brought back the best ever budget car audio brand; JBL Car Audio!

JBL Car Audio have been around, well, forever it seems! They are the masters of budget car audio and we have them to thank for bringing car audio to the masses. Before JBL there wasnt much choice unless you wanted to spend upwards of £1000 for a speaker and subwoofer system to connect up to your classic cassette stereo. When JBL arrived on the scene, this all changed with the first sub £100 car audio subwoofer and soon released a huge range of speakers, amplifiers and even more subwoofers.

JBL’s UK distribution had faltered in recent years but has now settled and Car Audio Plus are proud to announce that we will finally be restocking all JBL products. Your car audio options just got a whole lot better.

We were contacted by a customer at the start of this month who was desperate to get his iPod working in his car. He had already been given false information by 4 companies and he saw his only logical route to be through his dealer (who you would expect knew his car and its options inside out & back to front). £1400 and two weeks (without his car) later, the only thing that he had extra to before his vehicle went over to his dealer was an even bigger headache!

The dealer had sold him a kit for nearly triple the price that we charge (we charge £140, the dealer charged £400) and then charged a whopping £1000 for installation which took an entire two weeks! When this was complete it turned out that the iPod car kit didnt even work! He took it back and had it tested, they agreed to swap it over. Still no joy! In the end, 3 kits were tested and none worked. Our customer managed to get his £400 back for the iPod Car Kit but they wouldnt pay up for the installation costs. This has obviously left sour grapes in the mouth of the customer who was understandably very annoyed. This is where iPod Car Kit Direct come in, proving that we are a long way ahead of the game when it comes to getting an In Car iPod.

We had a call around 9:15am asking if we could offer any advice. We obviously knew the vehicle very well having successfully integrated around 5000 iPod Car Kits into thus far. We knew exactly what the issue was and suggested we could sell the Dension Gateway 100 kit at £140 and install it for £50. Our installers went over to our customers place of work two days later and installed the kit within 1 hour. Fully tested and fully working.

Needless to say that our customer was extremely pleased that he could now play his iPod in his car. He is also pursuing the lost £1000 with trading standards and is very close to a happy ending.

This story goes to show that there really is no replacement for expereince. We dont like blowing our own trumpets but we have twice the experience than any of our competitors and have ben the only company to have been dealing with iPod Car Kits since the very first iPod Car Kit was designed.

The Roads in the UK are very dangerous, more and more vehicles are released on to them every year, as well as the millions of older vehicles already motoring. More people are learning to drive and people are staying on the roads for longer durations, whether it is through profession, leisure or convenience.

The problem that we face now is a craze that started at the time of the mass production of mobile phones. People have become dependent on phones ever since they were made mobile, especially when an incoming call is made. Obviously when driving it’s much more dangerous to be involved in a manual phone call, not only endangering the life of the driver but the lives of other road users.

The Danger comes two fold, firstly the act of physically removing your hands from the steering wheel, reducing the ability to react to any situation that may occur in front. Although many people think they are capable driving with effectively one arm studies show that driving performance is reduced significantly

The Second and more important problem occurs with braking eye contact from the road while looking for the mobile phone. Obviously while you aren’t looking what’s happening in front when driving you can’t react to anything that may happen. Significantly reducing the time in which the driver has to react. This is in most cases the more dangerous factor.

Several organisations and charities studying the effects of phone driving also suggest that people becoming too “involved” in the conversation may cause an accident, however there will be many occasions that the driver may become involved in an aspect or activity other than driving that may cause an accident.

The solution to this problem is the use of a Bluetooth Car Kit, Parrot are the market leaders in the field however other products are available. Bluetooth car kits enable you to connect your mobile phone through the car audio system wirelessly so you can make and receive calls, text messages and now more modern kits allow music streaming, iPod connections and voice recognition.

Using a Bluetooth kit reduces the two most significant dangers while phone driving, the easy answer / hang up functions means you don’t have to remove your hands from the wheel, and your eyes can remain on the road while you use the phone.The invention of the Bluetooth kits definitely improves driver safety when using the phone, and parrot continues to lead the way!
A Bluetooth Car Kit is a device that provides a safe and convenient way to communicate whilst driving. Your Phone can connect to the Car Bluetooth and ensure you and other road users remain safe.

InCar Network has been working on updating our web sites in recent weeks. The objective is to provide a cleaner, easier to navigate web site to make it easier for our customers to understand and find the products they are looking for.

http://www.CarAudioPlus.co.uk being the first to receive an overhaul, now boasts a modern look, completely transforming the older site to a very spatial, clutter free web site. We are highly confident the new site will allow you the customer a more pleasurable shopping experience with us, as we ourselves know how frustrating it can be trying to find the item you are looking for when there is so much choice available.

http://IPodCarKitDirect.co.uk is next in line to receive an update, and to mark the launch of the new look site, we will be offering a special promotional discount to all of our customers. Keep an eye on the web site for more details, coming soon.

In addition to this, we have recently launched our new web site, http://www.BluetoothCarKitDirect.co.uk, which specialises in Bluetooth hands free car kits, ranging from standalone visor mounts, to fully integrated solutions that operate via state of the art voice recognition software through your existing stereo. Bluetooth car kits are rapidly becoming the number 1 in car accessory due to Road Legislation and Road Safety. With more people on the roads than ever before, communication on the go is in high demand. For more information please click to visit http://www.BlueToothCarKitDirect.co.uk

Finally we have been working on our Support and Technical section on our web sites. We have separated InCar-Support to individual support sites, within the main websites, so you have a dedicated support section available for each web site you visit. FAQ’s are now specific to the content available on each site, and the Technical Staff are specialised to the relevant fields ensuring you receive the very best in after sale support and technical help.

We hope you enjoy your time with us, if you have any questions, please just ask.

In Car Network is growing… It gets larger and stronger by the month and this month is no exception.

The latest addition to In Car Network’s group of websites is Bluetooth Car Kit Direct. Built around a similar idea to the hugely impressive iPod Car Kit Direct. It aims to bring bluetooth car kits direct to consumers at HUGELY discounted prices with a service that nobody else can match.

One of the main features of Bluetooth Car Kit Direct is that we have packages which enable you to purchase the item AND have it installed at your home. All at the click of a button. The installation AND the items are covered with parts and labour cost so there is no need to worry about future installation and uninstallation costs should the item develop a fault.

The installation of the Gateway 100 & 300 units are usually trouble free, in fact the most troublesome part of the installation is removing the head-unit. We have listed a few features regarding the installation that will help you when deciding whether or not you should try it yourself. (Please remember that The Gateway 100 & 300 products are car and radio specific and have different pin setting for different units)

Preparation,

Disconnect the head-unit (stereo) from the battery. If you have a security code applied ensure that you have it recorded.

Remove the Head-Unit

Often the radio will have a specific radio Key that will need to be used when removing the Stereo, (available at http://www.ipodcarkitdirect.co.uk/iPod_Car_Accessories/Radio_Keys/). Simply insert the keys into the slots and pull out the head-unit.

Remove the Original Harness

Remove the harness that is attached to the stereo, these harness look different in different car models and manufactures.

Replace the Dension Harness

Attach the Dension Harness to the stereo and then re attach the old harness to Dension harness. The Denson attachment should then be connected to the Dension PCB (black box).

Attach & route the application

When the harness have been connected together, connect the Dension application (Dock Cable or Active cradle) to the PCB and rout into the position that you would like it to be kept, (for dock cables this is usally in the glove box, active cradles are usually attached to the Dashboard)

Insert the head-unit  

Insert the head-unit back into the original position and re connect to the battery.

Remember,

The Key code for the radio, updated iPod software & Dension software also resolve 99% of installation problems

For more detailed instruction refer to the Manual when purchased, or visit http://install.dension.com

Inphase IPS 248BT Now in Stock

The new Inphase IPS 248BT Stereo is now available and in stock and Car Audio Plus. The IPS 248BT is packed full of great new features Like a USB and SD card slot & built-in Bluetooth that allows hands free calling that can store up to 30 names in its phonebook. The 248BT is purposely designed for the factory fit look (OEM) to match as closely as possible to the standard look in most cars, but allowing you to upgrade your system sound quality with its 4 x 60w built in amp.

A Great Stereo for the Price

Dension are working very hard to complete the Gateway 100 iPod Car Kit for General Motors & Vauxhall. The Unit is believed to be compatible with the majority of the Vauxhall range providing the first fully digital iPod Car Kit solution for vauxhall cars. Currently the Ice>link One (previously known as the Ice>link FM) is the only unit from Dension that will work.

There is not a confirmed time scale for the release for the units but it is expected to be soon. The Unit is expected to retail at the same price as the other Gateway 100 units.

Look for the best kit for your car at www.iPodCarKitDirect.co.uk

If you think the Pioneer Budget range was value for money, wait till you see these. Pioneers New Mid-Range stereos have the best of both worlds (in terms of performance and styling) These boys pack all the punches and look good doing it. The P5000UB, P50UB & P3000MP have all the features of the previous models and more, the P50UB for example has iPod & USB connectivity as standard and trust me, you will NOT see a better looking stereo in this price range.

Take a look for your self you wont be disappointed

Pioneer DEH-P5000UB

Pioneer DEH -P50UB

Pioneer DEH-P3000MP

Visit Audio Assault for the full range