What did we do before the invention of the iPod? Its like Mobile phone, how did we communicate before we had these? Back in the dark ages (10 years ago) we had to play music on tape and had to be at home to make a phone call. Just like most things in these times, we want everything on demand. Instant Music, Instant TV, Instantly contactable. Well the good news is Music is now just that, even in your car.

Digital Media Vs Radio, which do you prefer? Your own choice of music, albums and play-lists available for you to browse through at any point or tuning in to a radio broadcast and listening to the DJ. Not always, but usually making an anecdote about a story that really isn’t worth listening to, and playing a predetermined play-list dependant on weekly budgets rather than playing good music. Most people choose playing music from their iPod. Or at least have the choice to do so.

Your Music is available on your iPod when ever you want it, and presumably you like all the music tracks you have on there? Otherwise they wouldn’t be there right! Well combine the music you love and with the iPod car kit and you have the perfect solution for the long and tedious drives when your usually either reduced to tears or subject to road-rage before the end of the journey. I’m not saying that these are a miracle cure for road-rage but they may help reduce stress a little?

When Wanting Music in your vehicle the most convenient and easiest way of doing so is usually an FM Transmitter. Its a simple process to get music playing, which usually entails taking it out the box, setting a frequency and pressing play on your iPod (The process couldn’t be simpler). Music is played through the stereo via an FM frequency, providing the frequency isn’t used often you’ll receive a good quality audio signal through stereo and subsequently the speakers.

We are not in the 18^th century any more, are we? And you sure have heard about the Bluetooth car kits, haven’t you? Okay, just to refresh on the basics, Bluetooth car kits are normally devices that you use Bluetooth technology with your A2DP phone for hands-free facility while driving your car. Previously, these Bluetooth car kits were wired with the mobile phones, but nowadays with the advancement of the Bluetooth technology, you can access the hands-free device without wiring of any sort. It is wireless.

Yes, in a lot of cars in the 21^st century, you will find a Bluetooth car kit. And why shouldn’t it be so? After all, any change that brings about betterment in our lives is to be welcome with open arms. Here in this article, I would enlist what the plus points of getting you a Bluetooth car kit can be.

Usability – Yeah, there was a time when handsfree Bluetooth car kit was supposed to be a luxury. But in today’s times, it has become a necessity. The heavy fast traffic, the upward surge in road accidents and sometimes, just the irresistible attraction of the merits of the hands-free facility is enough for to make anyone go for one. In simple words, if you HAVE a car, you NEED a Bluetooth car kit.

Cost-effectiveness – Well, it would not have been possible for every other mobile phone owner with a car to go for a Bluetooth car kit if it was priced sky-high. But the advancement of the Bluetooth technology and competence of the Bluetooth car kit manufacturing brands made it absolutely possible for the general public to avail of this great facility. Great quality at low costs is the order of the day.

Legal – Did you know that in most countries, handling mobile phones while driving is ILLEGAL? And that’s why the Bluetooth car kit is so necessary. With a Bluetooth car kit, you can save your day if a traffic officer comes pouncing on you. Remind yourself of the story I told you at the beginning of this article. You want a handsfree not to get your car confiscated or be charged a hefty fine just for talking to your mum while driving to your office.

And not only these, the user’s experience including the high quality sound and crystal clear picture, along with the addition of new features to the Bluetooth car kits every day make it a must to be had in every car. From the plain old MP3 players or other car audio players, you may not be able to get the audio and video output quality and ease that you get from the regularly updated Bluetooth car kits.

To sum it up, if you are a passionate car addict as I am, and want to enjoy every bit of your driving, go get yourself the latest Bluetooth car kit in the market. It’s the driving experience that counts in the end. Remember, if you OWN a car, you NEED a Bluetooth car kit.

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 system and ensure you and other road users remain safe.

Most of us drive, and all of us from time to time have to travel long journeys. The problem with long journeys is boredom. Whether your travelling as a family, couple or on business the longer you travel the more boredom you’ll experience, and that’s almost a certainty. Travelling with kids in the car can be especially tedious, especially if they’re at the age when they argue and fight.

Combating boredom can make the journey much more enjoyable and go much faster, listed below are several methods of combating boredom when travelling, especially on long journeys.

1. Playing games. There are loads of games that can be played when travelling and the more creative the better. Simple games like the roadside alphabet game are simple, easy to play and keep kids (or adults) involved and entertained for hours. The key to playing games is to get organised, find the games you want to play in advance, swap and change the games regularly to keep them fresh. Print them off and keep in the glove box for future journeys. There are loads of travel games to browse through here

2. Mobile Computers. We live In a generation of mobile entertainment, computers systems are truly mobile whether it be via laptops or PC’s built into vehicles. Computing can be done easily and efficiently while on the move. The invention of systems like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS are also designed exactly for this demand from modern lifestyles. A simple in car adapter for these systems will keep the battery topped up for as long as you like. Car power adapters can be found here

3. Video screens. Video screens can be installed into the vehicle entertainment systems that provide DVD playback. A particularly useful device if your passengers love films. Bring along you favourite DVD’s and you have hours of fun at the touch of a button. The only problem that will occur is the choice of DVD!

4. iPod Car Kits. It seems that everybody has an iPod these days. Why not connect it to your stereo and have full control of it while your driving. Playing all of your favourite music and albums will certainly make the time pass quicker than listening to the radio. Ipod car kits for your vehicle can he found here

5. POI – Points of interest. Many Sat Navs come with a long list of local POI’s. Take advantage of this feature and look for local POI’s as your driving by. Building this into your journey can add a little bit of time, but you may find something interesting that you never knew was there. There might be something around the corner you have wanted to do for ages but never got round to doing? If your going to be driving for 10 hours you might as well make it 11 and pack the journey full of excitement.

6. One for the adults. Practical jokes, truth or dare or something more kinky??? it doesn’t matter providing you don’t drive dangerously or put other drivers at risk. Simple jokes can provide hours of entertainment on the road and make a long journey feel like a quick one. What you do is up to you, but the more thought you put into it the funnier it will be!

7. Track you movement. Not that it will make your journey any quicker but maybe more interesting, you can purchase tracking devices that connect with google earth which map your movements. Build up your online map and see where you’ve been before, which route you take most, and plan trips to destinations you haven’t been before.

8. Take a Camera. Take pictures of the places you’ve travel past, tie in with POI’s and build up your photo album of interesting place you’ve been to or travelled past.

If you can think of any more add them at the bottom.

Apple are doing well from the MP3 Market (which of course they pretty much generated), iPod’s are more popular than ever, the iPhone is now open to several mobile phone networks and iTunes are still the number one music download site. Apple seem to have created a gold mine (I’m sure they worked hard for). However its not just Apple that are benefiting from the popularity of the iPod. There are now many large brands that have built their reputation on the back of the success of the iPod and iPhone. Usually revolving around iPod accessories.

The modern iPod is a thing of beauty, its stylish looks are appealing to the eye and its functions are second to none. Its natural that most people want to protect its stunning image and increase its functionality. Listed below are 5 must have iPod accessories that really improve the function / styling / quality of use of the iPod.

1) iPod Protective Skins and Cases – Were first introduced to protect the iPod and touch screen from scratches & damage while left pockets, handbags or vehicle gloveboxes or any other environment where damage can occur. However iPod case production has now moved into an additional areas offering bespoke and original design artwork, its easy to personalise your iPod and style it to how you desire. If you want your iPod to stand out from the crowd this is an excellent way of doing so.

2) Apps – There are far too many apps to mention here, and new and improved versions are being created every day. So what are Apps useful for? Well depending on what functions you’re after, you can probably get an app for it. A good example of an app i love to use is wikipanion. Its basically a mobile version of the wikipedia website. If you need any information on anything, load the app and search for what you need and you have everything you need to know about it. Browse the apps store on your iPod, you will definitely find something you’ll like.

3) iPod Car Kit – I particularly like this invention because it increases the usability of your iPod. Like its predecessors the iPod was designed to make your music mobile so you can listen to it where ever you go, One of the only exceptions of doing this is while your driving. The iPod car kit extends the usability of your iPod while driving, which most people over the age of 17 do a lot of. There are a lot different kits available, each offering different functions and features. Listening to the music, podcasts & audio books you love on a long drive makes the time go much quicker.

4) iPod Dock Station – Your iPod is basically a mobile Juke box. It carries around all of your favourite music all of the time, New iPods can hold some of your favourite videos or films too. Take advantage of your iPod’s storage capacity load all of your music, and with the spare space upload music videos, films and favourite TV programs. Use a docking station at home and play your music and videos through the stereo or TV.

5) iPod sport Kits – A Great invention for the keep fit fanatic, most people who regularly run listen to music (usually via an iPod). Apple and Nike offer an iPod sports package that allows you to listen to your music & keep track of your training secessions. The Sports pack records the pace, time and distance you have covered during the work out and added to your nikeplus account, allowing you improve your performance each time you exercise.

Any of these 5 ipod accessories will improve your user experience, obviously they will not appeal to everybody. My personal favourite is the iPod car kit as i spend a lot of time on the road.

There are a lot of options available to the customer when buying a car phone kit, with all the different car kits out there, what are the main differences between them and specifically a wired car kit and a Bluetooth one? Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages which must be considered when choosing which kit to purchase.

Wired car kits require the phone to be placed in a cradle upon entering the car. The cradle charges the phone, and calls are routed automatically through the device, and if the device is a hardwired connection to the vehicles head-unit, audio can be heard through your car’s speakers. Any actions you want to perform – making, answering, and ending calls, or using menu options – must be done directly from your phone, so it’s essential that the cradle is positioned correctly for comfort and convenience. There are also negatives to having a cradle, the cradle will only match 1 phone or in some cases a specific brand. This means you can’t use more than one phone, rendering the kit useless if you upgrade phones or if family members or work colleagues have different mobile phones.

With a wireless Bluetooth car kit, calls are automatically routed from your phone to a small speaker or through your stereo and car speakers – your phone never has to leave your pocket or purse. The connection is established automatically when you enter your vehicle and start it. Any functions of your phone that you need to use are controlled from the dashboard control unit or via voice command, instead of from your cell phone. Additional benefits of the Bluetooth kits include the extra options available. Including additional inputs including iPod, AUX Mp3 and on some occasions USB.

Essentially, if you’re on the road for long periods of time and are concerned about phone battery life or you prefer to use your phone to control calls instead of learning to use the dashboard control unit, then the wired kit is probably for you. However, if you like the idea of using the dashboard control panel, or the convenience of not having to place your phone in the cradle when you get in the car, or you like additional music then the wireless bluetooth car kit is a better option.

Author of aritcle  Nick Janaw

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.

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.

Dension has released the latest Gateway CAN kits for Volkswagen vehicles. The New 100/300 kits released provide text information on certain radios in newer VW’s. The Gateway system offers the same excellent sound quality and the ability to control your music through the iPod, stereo or steering wheel controls as well as charging the iPod. However the CAN system allows text to be played across the Cluster screen on the information panel. This can be found in different areas depending on which stereo was installed in the vehicle during production. However it’s usually located on the dashboard near the speedometer.
The CAN System operates and can be controlled in the same way and the previous Gateway 100/300 which are still available for the none CAN car systems, and allow different amount of text to be shown depending on the stereo system used.

Have you got CAN?

The Hi line cluster display usually is found in newer VW vehicles with steering wheel controls shows the text, If you have the Hi line and one of the stereos listed below its likely that you will be able to receive text information.

Compatible Stereos.
Radio Single CD RCD 210 (MP3 also) – MY09 Jetta, Passat, Touran, Fox, Polo, Golf, Tiguan & Sharan
Radio Single CD RCD 310 – MY09 Jetta, Passat, Touran, Fox, Polo, Golf, Tiguan, Sharan & Eos
Radio Single CD RCD 300 (Visteon) – MY05 Jetta, Passat, Touran, Fox, Eos, Polo, Golf, Tiguan & Sharan
Radio Single CD RCD 300 (Grundig) – MY05 Jetta, Passat, Touran, Eos, Fox, Polo, Golf, Tiguan & Sharan
Radio 6 CD RCD 500 MP3 (Panasonic)(5 keys along the bottom 4 on RCD 300) – MY07 Jetta, Passat, Touran, Eos, Polo, Golf, Tiguan & Sharan

Follow the link for More information on the new VW Gateway 100 CAN

Since 2003 it has become illegal do use a hand held phone while driving and now carries a £60 fine and 3 penalty points in the UK. Society in general has now realised how dangerous this act is, although it still doesn’t seem to concern the majority. Hopefully this will soon change with more and more variations of bluetooth kits becoming available. One of which is the Bluetooth Headset which is also known as Bluetooth Ear Piece.

Bluetooth Headsets have become more popular in recent years. This is for several reasons but mainly due to the awareness of phone driving and the consequences of doing so. There are more bluetooth headsets on the market now than ever before. This growing popularity has had many effects on the current crop of headsets. The design of the ear pieces is more stylish and trendy than ever before, mainly down to the importance of the style and fashion in an image conscious generation. For this reason manufacturers have increased the budget for development of newer products.

As these products are designed to be worn on the ear and on display constantly, small, sleek, smooth and simple kits are seen to be more desirable. The size of these types of kit have reduced over the past few years and a lot are now around the size of a 20p piece and due to this the functionality of them is fairly basic.

So what are Bluetooth Headsets?

Actually more like an ear piece than a headset. The device fits into your ear with most having an arm that loops over your ear to hold in place. The device connects pairs with your phone via bluetooth and allows you to answer and hang up conversations via your mobile phone, but without having to touch the phone. The majority of these devices utilise a one button function method for ease of use, in which one tap will answer the incoming call and the next tap will hang up the conversation. The microphone is usually built in to the ear piece to improve the design and functionality.

This has its obvious advantages, one of which is these devices allow you be contactable while you drive. Just a simple tap of the device button while you’re driving connects the conversation through the bluetooth headset. Meaning you can hear and talk to the contact perfectly while you concentrate on driving. Obviously this reduces the chances of an accident significantly assuming you would have previously been fumbling around for the phone, then driving one handed for the duration of the call.

Usually Bluetooth Headsets are easy to use and set up. Almost all units pair to your phone in the same way, you switch the device on, press the button and select the device in the phones bluetooth menu. Once Paired you are good to go, just insert the device in your ear & you can accept all calls coming through your mobile.

The quality of the audio produced by these most of these devices is excellent, because the device fits directly into your ear there’s minimal interference outside of the ear piece. Most kits come with a 2 watt speaker which produce a good audio range, so they’re neither to tinny or too much bass’ when people are speaking on the other end.

The majority of these kits are used by professional drivers, who are on the road more often than not. However Bluetooth headsets are very cost effective and are definitely useful for all drivers as your device may save your life without you being aware of it.