French maker of Bluetooth car kits Parrot has announced today the availability of its second generation of Android in-car devices that brings together hands-free phone operation (including voice commands), music, and apps.
The so-called “Asteroïd“ devices range includes a 3.5-inch hands-free car kit (€249, $299), a 5-inch tablet (€349, $399) and a 6.2-inch 2DIN car autoradio (€549, $599).
This range of products runs on Android version 2.3 but is not a Google-approved version with Android market and Google Apps such as Gmail and Google Maps Navigation.
Instead Parrot as developed - since the first generation of the product - its own “Asteroïd“ app market. The app market will provide turn-by-turn navigation applications such as IGO Primo from NNG and Waze, as well Deezer, Spotify, iCoyote and a few others.
At the connectivity level Parrot has done a great job in integrating Bluetooth and Wi-Fi tethering as well as USB for phones and 3G dongles.
The so-called “Asteroïd“ devices range includes a 3.5-inch hands-free car kit (€249, $299), a 5-inch tablet (€349, $399) and a 6.2-inch 2DIN car autoradio (€549, $599).
This range of products runs on Android version 2.3 but is not a Google-approved version with Android market and Google Apps such as Gmail and Google Maps Navigation.
Instead Parrot as developed - since the first generation of the product - its own “Asteroïd“ app market. The app market will provide turn-by-turn navigation applications such as IGO Primo from NNG and Waze, as well Deezer, Spotify, iCoyote and a few others.
At the connectivity level Parrot has done a great job in integrating Bluetooth and Wi-Fi tethering as well as USB for phones and 3G dongles.
Like the previous generation, the new products will be sold in Europe and North America through specialized aftermarket car audio dealers that can provide the installation in addition to the sale of the devices. Indeed all of them require a professional installation as the 3.5-inch and and 5-inch devices are connected to a black box and the 2DIN device is obviously fitted too.
Altogether the systems becomes unfortunately quite expensive if you add the unit, the installation and the acquisition of a few apps, for example a navigation software. The target is definitely a high end customer looking for a semi-integrated solution.
However, it seems Parrot could probably offer more value to the driver in letting them replicate the apps from their smartphone to a larger screen - using technolgies like Pioneer, Mirrorlink, Ford AppLink, etc. - rather than developing its own app store that makes the solution costly both for the company and the end user.
To learn a bit more listen below to our podcast interview with Parrot’s CEO Henri Seydoux:
Altogether the systems becomes unfortunately quite expensive if you add the unit, the installation and the acquisition of a few apps, for example a navigation software. The target is definitely a high end customer looking for a semi-integrated solution.
However, it seems Parrot could probably offer more value to the driver in letting them replicate the apps from their smartphone to a larger screen - using technolgies like Pioneer, Mirrorlink, Ford AppLink, etc. - rather than developing its own app store that makes the solution costly both for the company and the end user.
To learn a bit more listen below to our podcast interview with Parrot’s CEO Henri Seydoux:
Parrot-CEO-Final.mp3
(8.25 MB)
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