14 DAY TRIAL // Without a doubt, CES 2011 is gearing up to be full of pleasant surprise, the latest we've managed to come across being the Parrot ASTEROID, a car multimedia receiver that works on the Android operating system. First and foremost, we'll have to point out that this 1-DIN device comes equipped with a detachable faceplate (in order to deter theft) on the left side, while its right side is occupied by a 3.2-inch TFT color display, that provides quick and easy access to a host of information, including phonebook, menus, music, playlist, album covers, internet applications and services.
Moreover, the left part of the receiver also houses the control buttons for the phone functionality (we'll detail this a bit later), plus a large rotary button for menu navigation.
The car receiver lets users play music from a variety of sources, including here USB flash drives, SD cards, MP3 players, the iPhone or iPod, and even web radios, when becoming 3G-capable with the addition of an appropriate dongle (and since we're on this topic, it's also important to point out that the receiver can also become a navigation device, by inserting into it the GPS dongle included in the sales package).
Naturally, since this thing includes a Bluetooth module, music files can also be sent to the car receiver from a mobile phone and via Bluetooth stereo A2DP.
Parrot ASTEROID also doubles as an advanced Bluetooth speakerphone, supporting the simultaneous pairing with up to two mobile phones and also offering users access a multi-user voice recognition feature.
Unfortunately, Parrot has not yet provided any pricing details for their Android-running ASTEROID Car Audio receiver, but they did reveal the fact that it should hit the shelves in the 1st Quarter of 2011 in France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux, while US customers will have to wait until Q2 in order to get their hands on it.