14 DAY TRIAL // Founded in Tokyo, on the 10th of May 1967, Alpine Electronics, Inc. is well known as an aftermarket car audio and navigation systems manufacturer, and their fame comes from their high quality, high priced in-car audio units usually known as headunits. In 2005, 80 percent of the company's revenue came from the OEM business, the largest part of it from producers like Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Volvo, Aston Martin, Land Rover or Jaguar.
In 2007, at Macworld, Apline has shown four audio/video (AV) touch-screen head units that allow drivers to design an integrated in-car audio/video and navigation system (AV+N) to suit their needs. Using the IVA-W205, IVA-D105, IVA-W200 and IVA-D310 AV head units, Alpine's customers can take advantage of all-in-one connectivity and touch screen access to the digital entertainment sources, services and devices they want, while tuner boxes, additional adapters and various service subscriptions should be purchased separately.
These devices give you access to full speed connection for iPod, a technology that allows you to enjoy your favorite tunes on the road without the need for any adaptors, just a cable that connects your player to the Alpine system.
The new AV units from Alpine are also Satellite and HD radio enabled, and now you can get multicasting capabilities.
Since not everyone is having an iPod yet, for those that own another portable device able to play music, the new IVA head units are USB WMA/MP3 enabled, so you can play and control any USB portable device easily.
Bluetooth and SIRIUS devices are also supported, and all four AV head units announced at Macworld are fully compatible with Alpine's fixed and portable navigation solutions.
If connected to the required system-building components, these Alpine devices can unleash their multi-channel Dolby Digital, Dolgy Pro-Logic II and DTS capabilities, taking advantage of their high-resolution 24-bit DAC. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the pricing, so the best choice would be to contact Alpine to check what you need and how much you need to spend for it...