Parrot are well known as a company that muscled into the Bluetooth hands free call market with a car speakerphone system that worked a whole lot better than Motorola's then dominant models. The great advantage Parrot offered was voice commands that worked. Most voice controlled technology only responds to those few people who sound like machines! Since then, Parrot has come up with some surprising devices. Including a radio controlled helicopter that can be controlled with an iPhone or iPad.
Parrot's new Asteroid, a new car stereo announced at CES 2011 is closer to the company's roots. The Asteroid has voice control for hands free calls via its speakers and an AM/FM radio. It is also a hub with 3 USB inputs so that you can connect in an MP3 player, smart phone, tablet PC or laptop. One nice irony is that the Asteroid uses Android as its operating system but is very happy to hook up to Apple devices like the iPod.
An optional 3G dongle can be used in one of the USB ports and the unit ships with a GPS dongle. Use both and it allows the stereo to know where it is, as well as having internet access. It can then give you relevant traffic updates and even turn by turn navigation with the Parrot Maps app.
Like any conventional upscale car stereo, part of the device is detachable so you can take it with you as a security measure. Half an Asteroid is hardly worth hauling away for any criminal.
The LCD screen is a generous 3.2-inch LCD. This will give you song name and artist information in conjunction with internet radio services like Pandora. It is also possible to get the same information verbally by pressing a button. A voice synthesizer converts the information embedded in the song into sound. This slightly strange feature will probably help those drivers who hate to look away from the road for even a moment.
The system is due for release in late 2011 but no price has been given at the time of writing.
Will it succeed?
At first glance, the Asteroid seems unnecessary. Cars come supplied with stereos and there are FM transmitters to hook up phones and iPods very easily. GPS navigation devices are also widespread and many have hands free call capability when integrated with a smart phone. At the same time, three USB ports, the ability to get traffic updates and navigation, internet radio and make hands free calls will certainly appeal. For me it covers all the important things I want in car. For some people it might just be too much and unnecessarily complex.
