iPod Connections, Bluetooth Widespread in New Cars

Manufacturers of aftermarket iPod-to-cassette adapters and cigarette lighter speakerphones take note: your days are numbered. The 2009 model year marks the first time where the majority of car models available in the US will feature iPod connectivity, while eight out of ten car models will offer Bluetooth.

A report released last week by iSuppli shows that 58 percent of vehicles will offer integration technology for Apple's iPod. Bluetooth is seeing an even bigger gain in acceptance, which we think might be fueled by state laws requiring hands-free devices for cell phone users.

"The automotive industry is at the point where in-vehicle
technologies—or the lack of them—are influencing sales," iSuppli's vice
president of research, Phil Magney, said in a press release.
Technologies that were previously the domain of luxury vehicles (and the Prius, above) have become make-or-break options on plebeian offerings from Honda and Hyundai
"which are making USB/iPod combination interfaces standard on many of
their vehicles," Magney said. "It’s also been spurred by OEMs like Audi
and Mercedes, which offer integrated Media Device Gateways that allow
any device imaginable to integrate with a vehicle.”

None of this device integration is good news to the "hang up and drive" crowd -- but at least drivers who text, e-mail, and videoconference while behind the wheel will be able to do so more conveniently.

While nearly a third of cars come with built-in iPod support, Zune and Sansa holdouts will have to be a little more careful with
their vehicle choices as only 1/3 of vehicles will offer specific
support for less popular famous devices. Still, those numbers are significant
compared to the 2008 model year, where only 39 percent of cars
supported the iPod and 16 percent offered support for other players.

In 2008, 55 percent of vehicles offered Bluetooth connectivity. In
2009, iSuppli expects a whopping 82 percent of cars to offer at least
Hands Free Profile (HFP), while buyers of the '09 Acura TSX or Mazda 6 will find support for the sadly neglected Bluetooth A2DP.  iSuppli's North American automotive analyst Mark Boyadjis thinks Bluetooth has caught on in the car because it's already prevalent everywhere else. "These days, nearly every mobile device offers some Bluetooth connectivity," Boyadjis said. "The influx of Bluetooth technology has blanketed the consumer electronics industry, and this is spilling over into cars.” It's certainly a far cry from the days of trunk-mounted CD changers and
aftermarket speakerphones hanging from the driver's-side visor.

Also gaining in popularity are location-based content and on-board hard disk drives. While the drivers of 2005 were content to use a DVD-based navigation system that hopefully didn't send them off a cliff, today's nav users want more map storage and real-time traffic. In today's stagnant automotive market, manufacturers like Acura, Ford, Volkswagen, Mercedes and GM are more than happy to oblige.

Photo courtesy flickr user simonk