A new In-Car Digital Radio coming soon?
Since August 6 2009, the only in-car Digital (DAB+) Radio has been the Pure Highway. Not a bad radio, but pricey.
Late last year an in built car radio from BlueState (Developed in Malta) was announced, and should hit our shores very soon.
This morning however, the first pictures of another likely DAB+ candidate emerged, similar in concept to the Pure Highway, this one appears to be coming from OXX – the makers of the OXX Classic and Vantage.
UPDATE: My information is that this new unit will hit retail at under $200 – great news.
Continue Reading for more..The official Twitter account of OXX (@OXXDigital) posted this morning a picture of the new screen mounted DAB+ Radio working clearly in Australia, tuned to SBS DAB only station SBS Chill.
OXX In-Car Radio
As you can see, screen mounted like the PURE Highway however it seems a little smaller.
PURE Highway
The Bluestate model due this year is the favoured model for people with the ability to do a radio swap (sadly, many new cars don’t have suitable interchangable radios)
BlueState In Car DAB+ Radio
It’s good to see more models coming to market, that will be good for Price competitiveness and also the general take-up of DAB Radio.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Trevor Long, Trevor Long and Trevor Long. Trevor Long said: A new in-car Digital Radio coming soon? http://bit.ly/9hv64A Looks good! [...]
bring it on!
The thing with these screen mounted digital radios is that they are messy, require setup and in the end transmit their signal via FM radio which partially takes away from being digital anyway. The sooner car manufacturers begin with DAB+ already installed the better. The Bluestate looks good but pity that many cars like my Falcon have built in radios that can't be removed like the old DIN style consoles.
Agree fully – I'm fortunate in that I have an Old Barina, so will be swapping out the Radio for the Bluestate. Frankly, ALL dash mounted devices (Sat Navs included) are cumbersome and annoying to install and keep – so it's a real industry issue in my book.
Trevor
So what's the reliability and sound quality of the Bluestate like? Does it drop out much when driving around buildings or under ground?
I have just installed it Click here to read that review. Essentially, the unit should get as good if not slightly better reception than any portable. As such, it will drop out underground – you might get one level below ground penetration – but unlikely any more.. That's Digital Radio though, not the unit itself.
With regard to reception on dab+ in the car,i have been using a pure highway connected to my existing head unit via the AUX in socket,using an external antenna specifically made for DAB and AM/FM, the reception around Melbourne is fantastic with no dropouts what so ever,even in the city itself,also cruising to Geelong it still receives superbly,DAB+ is the only way to go in the car,absolutely interference free,you must have an external antenna fitted, the antenna i purchased from the UK, is a Blaupunkt Shark Line A-RD T 01-M,bit on the pricey side,but worth every cent.