With TomTom stealing most of the attention with their car kit bundle, it was only a matter of time that Navigon would bounce back with another headline. Sure enough, Navigon has released news via Facebook about their upcoming iPhone cradle that will compete with TomTom’s similar attachment. After beating TomTom to the punch by releasing their app in June ’09, they have produced solid reviews for all versions released (North America, Australia, and Europe).  Even though all the details are still blurry, we do have a lead on what you can expect.

As seen above, Navigon will come standard with a suction cup mount but will also feature a charging cable so you never run dry.  This cradle should not have an astronomical price tag due to the fact that there is no supplementary technology such as an integrated GPS chip or hands-free calling.  Comparing TomTom’s roughly $100 unit, we would suspect much less.

Release date is still unclear, but one would suspect to keep your eyes pealed for October’ish since that is the target for TomTom’s anticipated car kit that will complete the circle.

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Alarm clocks, digital photo frames, and iPod/iPhone docks are usually bland and simple. Only very recently have we seen style truly grace these products. However, when I stumbled onto the upcoming Sony ICF-CL75iP, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. This is probably the greatest looking fusion of all of the aforementioned devices that I’ve ever seen.

This is the most advanced Dream Machine ever produced by Sony to date – it has a crisp 7 inch color WVGA (800 x 480) LCD, 1GB of built-in storage, and a retractable iPod/iPhone dock. What’s truly outstanding is that the photos on the screen can either be pulled from your iPod/iPhone, or loaded onto the unit via USB. You can also store and play music (mp3, WMA), and movies (MP4, Motion JPEG and AVI) on the device.

And in true Billy Mays fashion, wait, there’s more – a FM/AM radio (with 39 total presets), and the option to either wake up via radio, iPod/iPhone, nature sounds (Sea Waves, Birds, Rain, Brook, Under the Sea), or through a 10 second voice recording.  A personalized 10 second voice recording to wake me up?

You’re telling me that I can be woken up every morning by my favorite jingle? …

Features list:

• Vivid 7”diagonal LCD allows you to see the stunning details of your favorite photos and videos
• Large Time Display for easy viewing
• Choice of built-in or personalized background photos
• Nature sounds to gently fall asleep or wake up
• Picture frame mode
• User-friendly controls and menus let you easily adjust the 2-5-7 Day Alarm to fit your unique lifestyle
• Clean, contemporary design fits easily on the nightstand or desk
• Retractable charging dock for iPod® and iPhone™ slides out to charge your device and slides away when not needed
• Built-in stereo speakers
• 1GB built-in memory plus inputs for Memory Stick® media, USB, SD allows you to customize the background display with your personal photos
• Automatic Time Set and Automatic Daylight Savings Time Adjustment
• User-friendly controls and menus
• Digital AM/FM radio
• iPhone™ 3G certified

Sony has truly gone all out with this multi-function alarm clock/digital photo frame/iPod+iPhone dock and I honestly believe that this is going to be a huge hit.

You can pre-order this beauty right now through Sony Style Canada, CAN $199.99 (that’s US $180) and shipping out October 1st.

[via SonyInsider]

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In this new wave of audio media options in cars, who has time to fumble around with CD’s that hold a dozen songs?  Or maybe you’re a little ahead of the times and have a car stereo that play MP3 files?  You might as well be in the stone age, because now Parrot has brought an in-dash system that is dedicated just for your iPhone or iPod Touch.  No more wires, no more FM Transmitters, no more bulky docks, and the list could go on but you get the point.  Integrate your iPhone and in-dash stereo seamlessly with the Parrot RKi8400.

The Parrot RKi8400 serves as a FM/AM car stereo but this isn’t the meat of the functionality.  You will find multiple options for attaching digital music such as: USB port for a external hard drive or USB key, SD card reader, and a double line-in socket for analog sources.  And since Parrot throws out the useless CD player, you now have a storage compartment behind the faceplate that could be used for your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Within that cubby-hole, you’ll find a dedicated line to attached your iPhone/Touch and let it charge at the same time.

To add a cherry on top, you will be able to use this system as a hand-free device via Bluetooth.  Even if you’re cruising to your favorite playlist, once a call comes in the system automatically switches to hands-free mode.  It comes with a double microphone that helps eliminate inside and outside noises.  The Bluetooth integration is compatible with all Bluetooth mobile phone brands avaliable.

And how about that 2.4 inch display?  All information (phonebook, music library, album covers, etc) will be displayed on the screen.

Henri Seydoux, founder and CEO of Parrot stands tall for his product. “With the RKi8400, Parrot allows users to take advantage of the iPhone in car through a system that is easy to use and fully integrated in any vehicle. All iPhone functions – music, navigation of the music directory and playlists and Bluetooth phone capabilities – have been adapted for in-car use. Parrot’s application of its renowned acoustic quality and voice recognition capabilities to the iPhone is sure to please even the most discerning listeners.”

As of now, you will see a $399 pricetag attached to the full package.

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Sirius XM intro’ed the XM SkyDock, a device that turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a car satellite radio, letting subscribers kick finicky streaming apps to the curb.

The dock itself has Sirius XM’s own radio receiver chip on the inside, so it provides full access to their entire lineup. It does need to connect to the car’s cigarette power adapter to run, but it will also charge your iPhone at the same time. Radio gets to your stereo system via an aux output or built-in FM transmitter. And you, naturally, need to set up a sat-radio antenna to catch the signal.

The companion iPhone app, which requires OS version 3.0, is free in the iTunes store and works in both portrait and landscape modes. From the app, you get full access to all Sirius XM channels and a couple other goodies. First, if you hear a song you like, you can tag it, then review your tagged items, and jump to the iTunes store to buy them with a single click. There’s also a built-in local weather widget, which is nice, since you can’t exit the Sirius XM app to check the weather elsewhere without interrupting playback.

But how is this better than the existing streaming app you can already get, you ask? Two reasons: it gives you access to the whole sat-radio catalog; and it’s a real consistent radio signal, not a Web stream.

Sirius XM reps aren’t commenting about whether or not SkyDocks for other devices will be available in the future, but I guess we’ll see how this one goes to get started.

The SkyDock ($120) and its accompanying app (free) will both be available this fall.

[via PopSci]

Below, the official release:

SIRIUS XM RADIO INTRODUCES THE FIRST DEVICE TO RECEIVE LIVE SATELLITE RADIO CONTROLLED BY THE iPOD TOUCH AND iPHONE

XM SkyDock™ allows customers to enjoy live XM and “The Best of SIRIUS” in their vehicles using the iPod touch or iPhone

NEW YORK–August 26, 2009–SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) today introduced XM SkyDock, the first satellite radio controlled by an iPod touch or iPhone. The XM SkyDock is also one of the first products to take advantage of the new hardware control capabilities of iPhone OS 3.0.

Designed for easy use through the existing vehicle audio system, SkyDock has a built-in XM tuner controlled by a free App that users download from the App Store. The App allows control of the XM tuner using the capabilities of the iPod touch or iPhone Multi-Touch user interface. SkyDock will also charge iPod touch and iPhone devices while listening to live satellite radio.

“XM SkyDock will allow millions of users to add live SIRIUS XM Radio capability to their iPod touch or iPhone while in their vehicle,” said Bob Law, Group Vice President and General Manager, After Market Division, SIRIUS XM Radio. “XM SkyDock makes their favorite programming from XM and ‘The Best of SIRIUS’ available to iPod touch and iPhone users anywhere they drive, coast to coast.”

Listeners can use their iPod touch and iPhone to listen to all their favorite sports, talk, news, entertainment and commercial-free music programming, including Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, the PGA TOUR Network, Opie & Anthony, Bob Edwards, Jamie Foxx and Blue Collar Comedy. For the first time, subscribers can also listen to the complete “Best of SIRIUS” package, including Howard Stern and his two 24/7 channels, Martha Stewart Living Radio, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, sports play-by-play and the Playboy Radio channel, all controlled by the iPod touch and iPhone.

Listeners can also tag songs they hear on XM’s music channels for later purchase from the iTunes Store–including songs on XM’s 24/7 artist branded commercial-free channels such as Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, Elvis Radio, Eminem’s Shade 45, The Grateful Dead Channel, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Place, Siriusly Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Radio. Other features include game alerts and sports ticker, artist and song alerts as well as a stock ticker.

The XM SkyDock is a perfect companion to the SIRIUS XM Premium Online App, which allows subscribers to receive SIRIUS XM’s Premium Internet service on their iPhone and iPod touch when they are out of the vehicle and on-the-go, at home, or at the office.

XM SkyDock comes with SIRIUS XM’s patent-pending PowerConnect™ technology, which simplifies Do-It-Yourself vehicle installation, working through the existing vehicle radio and making it easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. An Aux In Cable is a standard in-box accessory to facilitate Aux In connections in vehicles with Aux In capability. SkyDock’s flexible stalk optimizes the iPod touch or iPhone placement in the vehicle. Customers can view the touch-screen interface in portrait or landscape modes. Accessories include Magnetic Mount Antenna and spacers to accommodate the various iPod touch and iPhone product generations.

XM SkyDock is compatible with iPod touch (1st generation), iPod touch (2nd generation), iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. All models require iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

XM SkyDock will be sold in stores and will also be available at www.shop.xmradio.com with an MSRP $119.99 in fall 2009. The XM SkyDock App will be available at the same time.

This device has been granted preliminary approval by the Federal Communications Commission but is still undergoing evaluation by the Commission.

For more information on XM, please visit www.xmradio.com.

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According to leaked pricing, one retailer claims the TomTom will be $193.75 or thereabouts. If the $194 price for the TomTom iPhone app is accurate, it makes this smartphone navigation system a bit pricey. You can get a standalone TomTom GPS unit for about $149 on Amazon.  TomTom hasn’t confirmed, nor denied the report.

And there are still a few unanswered questions about TomTom’s iPhone app also. It is yet unclear how the maps update process will be done, how well the app will integrate with iPhone’s limited multi-tasking abilities, and how users will download the 1GB app.

More details should be available though as the application approaches public release sometime later this summer.

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Thankfully, I still had a fully functional iPhone; I immediately set out to learn my options: Option #1 was the Apple Store; $250 flat rate, about a week turn-around. Not bad. Not good either.  Option #2 was DIY; I found plenty of sites offering just the glass ($30+) or Glass and a Digitizer ($65+); DIY could be good; not by me, but I have an associate who is quite good at such repairs.  and finally, Option #3: use a repair service, most with two-day service ($120+).

But first, what is a Digitizer?  It is the touch interface or sensor, connected to the inside of the glass that detects the electrical differences between the glass and our fingers.  The digitizer tells the iPhone exactly where on the screen you are touching.  I have read that the Digitizer and the glass can not be separated, although there are vendors selling the glass only.  My research told me that I should replace the digitizer and the glass.

Option #1 was out; $250 and 5 days to repair was too much and too long.  I read stories on the interwebs that many customers were able to get their iphones fixed for free at either the AT&T retail shops or at the Apple stores (after some aggressive complaining); however my 3G is 7 months old, and I put my chances at a free repair at slim to none, and didn’t want to burn a day trying.

Option #2 seemed risky. Only $65, but what if the case doesn’t snap back on, or gets scratched up; or a ribbon cable is torn.  There are quite a few DIY videos available, and I must say, the process is serious.  I decided to leave this as a last resort.

And so I went with option #3 using a Repair Service.  Double the cost of #2, but half the cost of #1, and only two days without.  But what service?  There are quite a few, to be sure.  In this type of situation I will typically downplay the internet research (what? from a tech geek), and rely on the experience of a few trusted friends.  Actual human interfacing; via GoogleTalk of course.  Unfortunately, only one friend  had a recommendation.  She had used a site called iResQ to repair her cracked glass in Jan.  She said their service was fantastic.  Not much to go on, but it was Monday and I was running out of time, and had to ship by 3PM for next day, so I quickly visited their site and ordered (through an easy to use and understand process) their “iPhone 3G Digitizer Replacement 2-Way Prepaid With Overnight Shipping” for $120.  I added it to my Shoppping Cart, checked-out and shortly after (7 minutes to be exact), I received a UPS Overnight label via email (link to the UPS site).  I used my own packaging (the original iPhone box, and some foam peanuts in a slightly larger box) and my iPhone was on its way.  As a note, I did a factory restore before sending; this is a must.  Always protect your data, be it corporate or personal (like adding bacon, just sound strategy for every day life).

I secured a Blackberry Curve as a loaner, and well, that’s another story.  Later that evening I received a tracking number from iResQ and received another tracking number for the return trip the following afternoon.  I did not receive a confirmation or status report that the iPhone was received and was being repaired.  This was not a problem, but may be a nice feature to consider.  And as promised, I received my iPhone via UPS Next Day Air Saver before noon on Wed, less than 48 hours.

The phone looked perfect; the new glass was exactly the same (i checked with a 3G and a brand new 3GS); the case was not nicked or scratched, and was on correctly, and the input sensor worked as well as before.  The reload was a drag, but there were so many Jailbroken apps that had multiple updates after 3.0, that a fresh start was warranted any way.

SUCCESS!!! Thanks to iResQ and their amazing service, I was without my iPhone for less that 2 days, and my phone is as good as new..  Put them on my list of recommended vendors.  Not much more I can say.

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